Protocolized emergency department observation care improves quality of ischemic stroke care in Haiti.

Introduction: In many low-income countries, Emergency Medicine is underdeveloped and faces many operational challenges including emergency department (ED) overcrowding and prolonged patient length of stays (LOS). In high-resource settings, protocolized ED observation unit (EDOU) care reduces LOS while preserving care quality. EDOUs are untested in low-income countries.

Training laypersons and hospital personnel in basic resuscitation techniques: an approach to impact the global trauma burden in Mozambique.

Introduction: Over half of prehospital deaths in low-income countries are the result of airway compromise, respiratory failure, or uncontrolled hemorrhage; all three conditions can be addressed using simple first-aid measures. For both hospital personnel and laypersons, a basic trauma resuscitation training in modified ABCD (airway, breathing, circulation, disability) techniques can be easily learned and applied to increase the number of first responders in Mozambique, a resource-challenged country.

Methods: A trauma training session was administered to 100 people in Mozambique: half were hospital personnel from 7 district medical centers and the other half were selected laypersons.