Pediatric Emergency Surgery Course in Uganda: Long-Term Follow-Up and Insights From Further Dissemination.

Introduction: Approximately 170 pediatric surgeons are needed for the 24 million children in Uganda. There are only seven. Consequently, general surgeons manage many pediatric surgical conditions. In response, stakeholders created the Pediatric Emergency Surgery Course (PESC) for rural providers, given three times in 2018-2019. We sought to understand the course's long-term impact, current pediatric surgery needs, and determine measures for improvement.

Methods: In October 2021, we distributed the same test given in 2018-2019. Student's t-test was used to compare former participants' scores to previous scores. The course was delivered again in May 2022 to new participants. We performed a quantitative needs assessment and also conducted a focus group with these participants. Finally, we interviewed Surgeon in Chiefs at previous sites.

Results: Twenty three of the prior 45 course participants re-took the PESC course assessment. Alumni scored on average 71.9% ± 18% correct. This was higher from prior precourse test scores of 55.4% ± 22.4%, and almost identical to the 2018-2019 postcourse scores 71.9% ± 14%. Fifteen course participants completed the needs assessment. Participants had low confidence managing pediatric surgical disease (median Likert scale ≤ 3.0), 12 of 15 participants endorsed lack of equipment, and eight of 15 desired more educational resources. Qualitative feedback was positive: participants valued the pragmatic lessons and networking with in-country specialists. Further training was suggested, and Chiefs noted the need for more trained staff like anesthesiologists.

Conclusions: Participants favorably reviewed PESC and retained knowledge over three years later. Given participants' interest in more training, further investment in locally derived educational efforts must be prioritized.