Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students
Introduction: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of specialist emergency care personnel is inadequate and task shifting is common. We aimed to assess the variation in knowledge on acute trauma care, and self-perceived con...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | African Journal of Emergency Medicine |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X25000035 |
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| author | Nankabirwa Victoria Guma Isaac Kabunga Jonathan Bigogo H Charles Navume Deborah Esther Mwanje T Kintu Nakiwere Elizabeth Chelimo Gerald Lemi Edward Nelson Kanyike A Marvin Francis M. Mwaka Law J Tyler Annet N. Alenyo Bulamba Fred |
| author_facet | Nankabirwa Victoria Guma Isaac Kabunga Jonathan Bigogo H Charles Navume Deborah Esther Mwanje T Kintu Nakiwere Elizabeth Chelimo Gerald Lemi Edward Nelson Kanyike A Marvin Francis M. Mwaka Law J Tyler Annet N. Alenyo Bulamba Fred |
| author_sort | Nankabirwa Victoria |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of specialist emergency care personnel is inadequate and task shifting is common. We aimed to assess the variation in knowledge on acute trauma care, and self-perceived confidence in performing lifesaving skills amongst final year medical students in Uganda. Methods: We conducted a multi-institutional, cross-sectional survey among final year medical students who had just completed their training from eight medical schools in Uganda. We assessed knowledge using a 25 standardized multiple-choice question test adopted from a previous study, and self-reported confidence in perfuming lifesaving skills, scored on a 5-Point Likert scale. Results: Some 246 (88.5 %) participants responded to the survey and 241 provided complete data. The mean knowledge score was 58.9 % (SD; 12.4) with a mean variation ratio of 0.36 (SD; 0.17). The mean self-perceived confidence score of the participants was 3.8 (SD; 1.0) with relatively high scores in interpretation of radiological investigations (mean 4.2, SD; 0.9) and patient assessment (mean 4.1, SD; 0.9), and lower scores in management of different categories of trauma patients (mean 3.8, SD; 1.0) and performing life-saving procedures (mean 3.5, SD; 0.9). Only three institutions had emergency medicine physicians, with one at each institution, and 146 (60.6 %) of participants received no dedicated trauma training. Conclusion: Final year medical students exiting training in Uganda had variable knowledge in acute trauma care and intermediate self-perceived confidence in performing lifesaving skills. Training programs need to standardize and strengthen acute trauma training and provide specialists and resources essential for trauma training at undergraduate level. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1f4e3a34c92b41f996a64806024020e9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2211-419X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | African Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-1f4e3a34c92b41f996a64806024020e92025-08-20T01:55:33ZengElsevierAfrican Journal of Emergency Medicine2211-419X2025-06-0115260260610.1016/j.afjem.2025.01.003Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical studentsNankabirwa Victoria0Guma Isaac1Kabunga Jonathan2Bigogo H Charles3Navume Deborah Esther4Mwanje T Kintu5Nakiwere Elizabeth6Chelimo Gerald7Lemi Edward Nelson8Kanyike A Marvin9Francis M. Mwaka10Law J Tyler11Annet N. Alenyo12Bulamba Fred13Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, UgandaFaculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, Uganda; Corresponding author.College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaSchool of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu, UgandaFaculty of Clinical Medicine & Dentistry, Kampala International University, Ishaka, UgandaMbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, UgandaSchool of Medicine, Kabale University, UgandaHabib Medical School, Islamic University In Uganda, Kampala, UgandaSchool of Medicine, King Ceasor University, Kampala, UgandaFaculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, UgandaFaculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, Mbale, UgandaCenter for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USADepartment of Emergency Medical Services, Ministry of Heath, UgandaELCHRI Elgon Center for Health Research and Innovation, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University, MbaleIntroduction: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of specialist emergency care personnel is inadequate and task shifting is common. We aimed to assess the variation in knowledge on acute trauma care, and self-perceived confidence in performing lifesaving skills amongst final year medical students in Uganda. Methods: We conducted a multi-institutional, cross-sectional survey among final year medical students who had just completed their training from eight medical schools in Uganda. We assessed knowledge using a 25 standardized multiple-choice question test adopted from a previous study, and self-reported confidence in perfuming lifesaving skills, scored on a 5-Point Likert scale. Results: Some 246 (88.5 %) participants responded to the survey and 241 provided complete data. The mean knowledge score was 58.9 % (SD; 12.4) with a mean variation ratio of 0.36 (SD; 0.17). The mean self-perceived confidence score of the participants was 3.8 (SD; 1.0) with relatively high scores in interpretation of radiological investigations (mean 4.2, SD; 0.9) and patient assessment (mean 4.1, SD; 0.9), and lower scores in management of different categories of trauma patients (mean 3.8, SD; 1.0) and performing life-saving procedures (mean 3.5, SD; 0.9). Only three institutions had emergency medicine physicians, with one at each institution, and 146 (60.6 %) of participants received no dedicated trauma training. Conclusion: Final year medical students exiting training in Uganda had variable knowledge in acute trauma care and intermediate self-perceived confidence in performing lifesaving skills. Training programs need to standardize and strengthen acute trauma training and provide specialists and resources essential for trauma training at undergraduate level.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X25000035Acute trauma careMedical studentClinical skillsEmergency careTask-shiftingTask sharing |
| spellingShingle | Nankabirwa Victoria Guma Isaac Kabunga Jonathan Bigogo H Charles Navume Deborah Esther Mwanje T Kintu Nakiwere Elizabeth Chelimo Gerald Lemi Edward Nelson Kanyike A Marvin Francis M. Mwaka Law J Tyler Annet N. Alenyo Bulamba Fred Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students African Journal of Emergency Medicine Acute trauma care Medical student Clinical skills Emergency care Task-shifting Task sharing |
| title | Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students |
| title_full | Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students |
| title_fullStr | Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students |
| title_short | Acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in Uganda; A cross-sectional survey of final year medical students |
| title_sort | acute trauma care training in undergraduate medical education programs in uganda a cross sectional survey of final year medical students |
| topic | Acute trauma care Medical student Clinical skills Emergency care Task-shifting Task sharing |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211419X25000035 |
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