331525
Combating delay of care in pediatric patients in rural Zambia
description: Lumezi Mission Hospital is a rural, first level referral hospital located in the Eastern Province of Zambia. The first goal of the project was to collect data on pediatric admissions and analyze factors that might affect child mortality. The second goal was to implement a two-pronged approach to minimizing the time between a child falling ill and receiving medical care. One arm of the project focused on patient and parental education in the outlying villages while the other arm involved implementation of a basic triage system at Lumezi Mission Hospital.
lessons learned: The data analysis has demonstrated interesting findings on cause, timing, and seasonal trends of death as well as many other findings. While our education program is still in its early stages, it has been well received by both the staff and the mothers. Additionally, the triage system has been successful, and we continue to engage with the local staff and brainstorm ways to improve and maintain it. .
recommendations: The project at Lumezi Mission Hospital is ongoing and continues to grow. Most recently, we planned to modify an educational pictorial insert for new mothers and designed a more streamlined admission sheet.
Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programsLearning Objectives:
List common causes of pediatric mortality in Zambia.
Evaluate barriers to access to care in Zambia.
Describe signs/symptoms of a severely ill child.
Design educational tools for use in areas with high pediatric mortality rates.
Design basic triage system for use in rural setting.
Keyword(s): International Health, Quality Improvement
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a medical student interested in global health. As one of the primary investigators, I was involved from conception and implementation through analysis. My co-investigator and I consulted with professionals in the field, including a pediatric intensive care doctor, a Dutch global health physician, and used WHO guidelines to develop education sessions and a triage system. My co-investigator is trained in patient education and I am trained in basic science research and data analysis.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.