Research

In order to improve Accident and Emergency Care in Ghana, it is first vital to gain an understanding of the patient population. One would expect the emergency department demographics, presenting complaints, diagnostic and therapeutic options to differ from U.S. institutions. To date, no comprehensive characterization of disease and injury has been conducted in the emergency setting in Ghana. Fundamental questions were immediately apparent: What are the chief medical complaints or injury complaints that bring people to Accident and Emergency center? What other sorts of care to patients seek before coming to the hospital? What is the mortality and morbidity associated with these presentations?

To begin to answer these questions we performed an initial survey study at the Accident and Emergency Center at KATH during the summer of 2009. We plan to build an ongoing data collection network to aid medical decision making in the Accident and Emergency Center and to inform policy making in Ghana at large.  Evidence based, equally shared, ethical research is at the center of the Ghana Emergency Medicine Collaborative.

Recent Developments:

• Partnered with the Research and Development Division at KATH with goal of building capacity and establishing ongoing data collection.
• Completed an initial Operational Needs Assessment of the Accident and Emergency Center.
• Completed initial study of patients presenting to the Accident and Emergency Center at KATH, characterizing injury and illness.

Future Planning and Goals:

• To establish an ongoing data surveillance system at KATH.
• To gain further understanding of the patient population, Accident and Emergency Center functioning and role in the community.
• Use data to tailor the Emergency Medicine Residency Curriculum to the unique needs of EM in West Africa.
• To establish a larger injury and emergency care surveillance system.
• To inform decision making by providing health, education and government policy makers with data on public health matters including trauma, infectious disease, and implications of the National Health Scheme.