(1068) The Relevancy and Applicability of Short-Term Critical Care Courses in Rwanda and Palestine

Introduction: Critical illness survivorship is poor in low- and middle-income countries. The Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS): Surgical course trains healthcare professionals in the identification and management of patients with critical illness and surgical needs.

Methods: The FCCS: Surgical course was delivered to healthcare providers in Rwanda in September 2022 and Palestine in March 2023. Following the course, participants were asked to complete a survey assessing applicability, relevancy, usefulness, and equipment availability for areas of course content. Chi-square test, multivariable logistic regression and ordinal regression were employed to assess for differences in these factors by category and by country.

Results: The course was completed by 27 interprofessional participants in Rwanda and 55 in Palestine. In both groups most participants were male and either physicians or in the field of anesthesia. In the Palestinian cohort, participants reported that all categories were equally applicable (78.1% across all categories) and relevant (76.7% very or extremely relevant) to their practices. All categories were rated as useful, though surgical soft tissue complications was the least useful (OR= 0.203, 95% CI = 0.061-0.671). Palestinians reported differences in equipment availability by category. In Rwanda, applicability, relevancy, and usefulness scores were high in all categories, with no significant differences in these scores or reported equipment availability. Rwandans were more likely to describe content categories overall as relevant (OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.71-2.59) than Palestinians. Rwandan respondents were also more likely to describe discussions as useful to their practice (97.8% vs. 87.2%, p< 0.001) but less likely to report equipment availability (OR = 0.550, 95% CI = 0.437-0.683).

Conclusions: All categories of the FCCS: Surgical course were perceived as applicable, relevant, and useful to course participants in Rwanda and Palestine. Limited equipment availability was reported in both cohorts but more so in Rwanda. Despite this, Rwandan respondents were more likely to describe course content as useful to their practice. This course may be useful for training healthcare providers in resource limited areas.