Using a consensus meeting to enhance fracture care education in low income countries

Zahra Jaffry; Maureen Sabawo; William J Harrison; Alexander T Schade

doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04077-8

Using a consensus meeting to enhance fracture care education in low income countries

BMC Med Educ. 2023 Feb 15;23(1):111. doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04077-8.

Authors

Zahra Jaffry¹, Maureen Sabawo², William J Harrison^{3

4}, Alexander T Schade^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Bart's Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
² Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.
³ Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK.
⁴ AO Alliance Africa, Davos, Switzerland.
⁵ Malawi- Liverpool Wellcome Trust, Blantyre, Malawi. alexander.schade@lstmed.ac.uk.
⁶ Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK. alexander.schade@lstmed.ac.uk.

Abstract

Background: A key strategy to building surgical capacity in low income countries involves training care providers, particularly in the interventions highlighted by the Lancet Commission for Global Surgery, including the management of open fractures. This is a common injury, especially in areas with a high incidence of road traffic incidents. The aim of this study was to use a nominal group consensus method to design a course on open fracture management for clinical officers in Malawi.

Methods: The nominal group meeting was held over two days, including clinical officers and surgeons from Malawi and the UK with various levels of expertise in the fields of global surgery, orthopaedics and education. The group was posed with questions on course content, delivery and evaluation. Each participant was encouraged to suggest an answer and the advantages and disadvantages of each suggestion were discussed before voting through an anonymous online platform. Voting included use of a Likert scale or ranking available options. Ethical approval for this process was obtained from the College of Medicine Research and Ethics Committee Malawi and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Results: All suggested course topics received an average score of greater than 8 out of 10 on a Likert scale and were included in the final programme. Videos was the highest ranking option as a method for delivering pre-course material. The highest ranking methods for each course topic included lectures, videos and practicals. When asked what practical skill should be tested at the end of the course, the highest ranking option was "initial assessment".

Conclusion: This work outlines how a consensus meeting can be used to design an educational intervention to improve patient care and outcomes. Through combining the perspectives of both the trainer and trainee, the course aligns both agendas so that it is relevant and sustainable.

Keywords: Clinical education; Consensus meeting; Fracture management; Low middle income countries; Nominal group technique.

Publication types

Consensus Development Conference

MeSH terms

Consensus
Curriculum
Developing Countries
Humans
Ophthalmology*
Surgeons*