TY - JOUR
T1 - Strengthening healthcare workforce capacity during and post Ebola outbreaks in Liberia
T2 - an innovative and effective approach to epidemic preparedness and response
AU - Bemah, Philip
AU - Baller, April
AU - Cooper, Catherine
AU - Massaquoi, Moses
AU - Skrip, Laura
AU - Rude, Julius Monday
AU - Twyman, Anthony
AU - Moses, Phiona
AU - Seifeldin, Redda
AU - Udhayashankar, Kanagasabai
AU - Enrique, Kayla
AU - Niescierenko, Michelle
AU - Owen, Chantelle
AU - Brown, Lauren
AU - Boukaré, Bonkoungou
AU - Williams, Desmond
AU - Nyenswah, Tolbert
AU - Kateh, Francis
AU - Dahn, Bernice
AU - Gasasira, Alex
AU - Fall, Ibrahima Socé
N1 - Copyright:
This record is sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Introduction: The 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Liberia highlighted the importance of robust preparedness measures for a well-coordinated response; the initially delayed response contributed to the steep incidence of cases, infections among health care workers, and a collapse of the health care system. To strengthen local capacity and combat disease transmission, various healthcare worker (HCW) trainings, including the Ebola treatment unit (ETU) training, safe & quality services (SQS) training and rapid response team (RRT), were developed and implemented between 2014 and 2017. Methods: Data from the ETU, SQS and RRT trainings were analyzed to determine knowledge and confidence gained. Results: The ETU, SQS and RRT training were completed by a total of 21,248 participants. There were improvements in knowledge and confidence, an associated reduction in HCWs infection and reduced response time to subsequent public health events. Conclusion: No infections were reported by healthcare workers in Liberia since the completion of these training programs. HCW training programmes initiated during and post disease outbreak can boost public trust in the health system while providing an entry point for establishing an Epidemic Preparedness and Response (EPR) framework in resource-limited settings.
AB - Introduction: The 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Liberia highlighted the importance of robust preparedness measures for a well-coordinated response; the initially delayed response contributed to the steep incidence of cases, infections among health care workers, and a collapse of the health care system. To strengthen local capacity and combat disease transmission, various healthcare worker (HCW) trainings, including the Ebola treatment unit (ETU) training, safe & quality services (SQS) training and rapid response team (RRT), were developed and implemented between 2014 and 2017. Methods: Data from the ETU, SQS and RRT trainings were analyzed to determine knowledge and confidence gained. Results: The ETU, SQS and RRT training were completed by a total of 21,248 participants. There were improvements in knowledge and confidence, an associated reduction in HCWs infection and reduced response time to subsequent public health events. Conclusion: No infections were reported by healthcare workers in Liberia since the completion of these training programs. HCW training programmes initiated during and post disease outbreak can boost public trust in the health system while providing an entry point for establishing an Epidemic Preparedness and Response (EPR) framework in resource-limited settings.
KW - Ebola outbreak
KW - Healthcare workforce capacity
KW - epidemic preparedness response
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071282383&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85071282383&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.11604/pamj.supp.2019.33.2.17619
DO - 10.11604/pamj.supp.2019.33.2.17619
M3 - Article
C2 - 31402967
AN - SCOPUS:85071282383
VL - 33
SP - 9
JO - Pan African Medical Journal
JF - Pan African Medical Journal
SN - 1937-8688
ER -