Assessment of emergency medical services in the Ashanti region of Ghana

Background: We aimed to assess the structure, function and performance of Ashanti Region’s emergency medical services system in the context of the regional need for prehospital emergency care.Design: A mixed-methods approach was employed, using retrospective collection of quantitative data and prospectively gathered qualitative data. Setting – pertinent data were collected from Ghanaian and international sources; interviews and technical assessments were performed primarily in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.Participants: All stakeholders relevant to emergency medical services in the Ashanti Region of Ghana were assessed; there was a special focus on National Ambulance Service (NAS) and Ashanti Region healthcare personnel.Intervention: This was an observational study using qualitative and quantitative assessment techniques.Main outcome measures: The structure, function and performance of the Ashanti emergency medical services system, guided by a relevant technical assessment framework.Results: NAS is the premier and only true prehospital agency in the Ashanti Region. NAS has developed almost every essential aspect of an EMS system necessary to achieve its mission within a low-resource setting. NAS continues to increase its number of response units to address the overwhelming Ashanti region demand, especially primary calls. Deficient areas in need of development are governance, reliable revenue, public access, community integration, clinical care guidelines, research and quality assurance processes.Conclusions: The Ashanti Region has a growing and thriving emergency medical services system. Although many essential areas for development were identified, NAS is well poised to meet the regional demand for prehospital emergency care and transport.Keywords: EMS, prehospital, ambulance, emergency, Ghana, Afric

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Ujuzi (Practical Pearl/Perle Pratique)

Ujuzi means skills in Swahili and is intended to be a regular feature for colleagues to share practical interventions, innovations and novelties that have proved useful in the management of patients in the prehospital environment or Emergency Centre. You can let Ujuzi know about your practical ideas by emailing [email protected]

Ujuzi (Practical Pearl/Perle Pratique)

Ujuzi means skills in Swahili and is intended to be a regular feature for colleagues to share practical interventions, innovations and novelties that have proved useful in the management of patients in the prehospital environment or Emergency Centre. You can let Ujuzi know about your practical ideas by emailing [email protected]

Burnout Syndrome During the Covid-19 Pandemic Among Visual Art Teachers in Ghana

This study sought to address burnout syndrome during the COVID-19 global pandemic among visual art teachers in Ghana. The startling intricacies of COVID-19 burnout among Visual Art Teachers (VAT) in Ghana were discovered using an exploratory research approach. 112 participants were surveyed across Senior High Schools Visual Art Teachers in Ghana. Data were analyzed using t-test, regression, and analysis of variance test (F test) to determine whether there were significant differences between the burnout levels and demographic factors. The findings revealed that, the only effects of the burnout that are statistically significant on gender are reduction in productivity or efficacy in teaching difference (t=-4.41, p=0.00(p<0.05)), Sleep disorders (t= -3.22, p=0.02(p<0.05)), short temper (t=-2.84, p=0.006(p<0.05)) and health consequences (t=3.36, p=0.001(p<0.05)). The ANOVA was significant between burnout negative effect among education level F (3, 108) =2.983, p= .035. However, the ANOVA was insignificant between burnout causes, effects, and preventive strategies scores and the ages of the teachers. The findings revealed that the majority of suggestions for burnout prevention fall under the category of personal changes. The study contends that though job responsibilities are high, the primary idea is that individuals have a larger role to play in preventing burnout

Ujuzi (Practical Pearl/Perle Pratique)

Ujuzi means skills in Swahili and is intended to be a regular feature for colleagues to share practical interventions, innovations and novelties that have proved useful in the management of patients in the prehospital environment or Emergency Centre. You can let Ujuzi know about your practical ideas by emailing [email protected]