TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Ukraine Trauma Project: the feasibility of introducing advanced trauma-care skills to frontline emergency medical services responders
JO  - BMJ open
A1  - Bury, Gerard
A1  - Fitzpatrick, Christopher
A1  - Heron, Bernard
A1  - Cullen, Walter
A1  - Scully, Eithne
A1  - Kachurets, Kateryna
A1  - Zacharchenko, Lyudmyla
SP  - e077895
EP  - e077895
VL  - 13
IS  - 11
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To design, develop, deliver and assess a training initiative on haemorrhage control for emergency medical services (EMS) staff in Ukraine, in an active wartime setting. <br><br>DESIGN: Using the Medical Research Council framework for complex interventions, a training programme was designed and developed in a collaboration between Irish and Ukrainian colleagues and delivered by experienced prehospital clinicians/educators. Feedback was gathered from participants. SETTING: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused large numbers of trauma patients with limited access to advanced prehospital emergency care. Ukrainian authorities requested support in delivering such care. PARTICIPANTS: Ukrainian EMS nominated clinical staff as trainees, in partnership with an educational institution in Kyiv. INTERVENTION: One day provider and train-the-trainer courses were developed and delivered, focused on early delivery of tranexamic acid (TXA), using intraosseous access (IO) in victims of wartime trauma. OUTCOME MEASURES: Safe organisation and delivery of courses, assessed knowledge and skills competence and self-reported satisfaction and pre/post confidence/competence. <br><br>RESULTS: Two provider and one train-the-trainer courses and four equipment supply exercises were delivered for 89 EMS staff (doctors, nurses, paramedics); none had prior experience of IO or prehospital delivery of TXA. All participants were assessed as competent as providers and/or trainers. High levels of satisfaction and significantly improved self-assessed confidence and competence were reported. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Rapid design and delivery of a training programme focused on an identified need for advanced care of trauma patients in a wartime setting has been possible. Training and immediate access to appropriate equipment was demonstrated. Evidence of frequency of use and safe, effective interventions has not been collected; such data are important for evaluation but difficult to collect in this setting. A high level of demand for this training now exists.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2044-6055
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-077895
ID  - ref1
ER  -