From: Chapter 68, Emergency Medical Services
NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
Background: The efficacy of a program that builds on the existing, although informal, system of prehospital transportation in Ghana was assessed. In Ghana, the majority of injured persons are transported to the hospital by some type of commercial vehicle, such as a taxi or bus.
Methods: A total of 335 commercial drivers were trained using a six-hour basic first-aid course. The efficacy of this course was assessed by comparing the process of prehospital trauma care provided before and after the course, as determined by self-reporting from the drivers.
The course was conducted with moderate amounts of volunteer labor and gifts in kind, such as transportation to the course. The actual cost of the course amounted to US$3 per participant.
Results: Follow-up interviews were conducted on 71 of the drivers a mean of 10.6 months after the course. In the interviews, 61 percent indicated that they had provided first aid since taking the course. There was considerable improvement in the provision of the components of first aid in comparison to what was reported before the course:
Component of first aid | Before (percent) | After (percent) |
---|---|---|
Crash scene management | 7 | 35 |
Airway management | 2 | 35 |
Bleeding control | 4 | 42 |
Splint application | 1 | 16 |
Triage | 7 | 21 |
Conclusions: Even in the absence of a formal EMS, improvements in the process of prehospital trauma care are possible by building on existing, although informal, prehospital transportation.
Source: Mock and others 2002.
From: Chapter 68, Emergency Medical Services
NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.