Impact of the First Basic Emergency Care Training Course in Ethiopia.

Abstract

Objectives: In Ethiopia, there is a significant unmet need for basic emergency care. The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), developed the Basic Emergency Care (BEC) course to assist in essential acute, time-sensitive health training for frontline providers in resource-constrained settings. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) of Ethiopia prioritized the implementation of the BEC course. The objective of this study is to evaluate the first implementation of the BEC training in Ethiopia.

Methods: A quasiexperimental study was conducted to assess whether Ethiopia's BEC training implementation would lead to improved baseline knowledge as a foundational step toward enhancing emergency services delivery. The study followed 2 cohorts of participants who completed the WHO's 5-day BEC Training of Trainers (ToT) course. Owing to resource constraints requiring the training of multiple participants in a short period, a cascading peer-teaching model was used. Expert instructors first administered the BEC ToT course to cohort A, who then subsequently trained cohort B. To evaluate changes in knowledge, pretest and posttest assessments were used. The pretest assessment was administered to both cohorts on the first day of the course, prior to the start of the training. The posttest assessment was administered to both cohorts on the last day of the course, after the completion of the training. The assessment, which was standardized into the course by WHO, covered topics such as identifying emergencies, skills application, and qualitative feedback.

Results: A total of 111 participants completed both pretraining and posttraining assessments. In cohort A, the average pretest score was 89%, and the average posttest score was 92%. The pass rate decreased from 96% to 91%. In cohort B, the average pretest score was 58%, and the average posttest score was 80%. The pass rate increased from 37% to 80%, demonstrating an increase of 43%. Strategic recommendations for future training include adapting course materials to better align with country-specific needs and allocating more time and resources for practical skills training.

Conclusion: The BEC training was successfully introduced in Ethiopia in an efficient and structured manner. With specific modifications, future BEC training sessions should continue to maintain and strengthen foundational emergency care training in Ethiopia.