Africa’s challenged ENT services: highlighting challenges in Zambia

BMC Health Services Research

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[1] 0000 0001 0723 4123, grid.16463.36, College of Health Sciences, Nelson R. Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, Discipline of Otorhinolaryngology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 4001, Durban, South Africa;0000 0001 0723 4123, grid.16463.36, College of Health Sciences, Nelson R. Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 4001, Durban, South Africa;0000 0001 1014 6159, grid.10598.35, University of Namibia, Katima Mulilo Campus, Private Bag, 1096, Katima Mulilo, Namibia;0000 0001 0723 4123, grid.16463.36, College of Health Sciences, Howard College Campus, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 4001, Durban, South Africa;

关键词: Ear;    Nose and throat (ENT);    Equipment;    Human resource;    Infrastructure;    Service delivery;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-019-4267-y

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDiseases of the ear, nose and throat (ENT) are common and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In many low income countries like Zambia, the high ENT disease burden has not received the required resources for treatment. We investigated ENT service provision in hospitals in Zambia by documenting the profile of hospitals offering ENT services and examining the country’s ENT services with regards to human resource, infrastructure and availability of equipment based on the levels of care of various hospitals.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted using a structured and piloted questionnaire which was administered to the 109 Ministry of Health (MoH) registered hospitals across the country. Ethical clearance was granted by University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Zambia National Health Research Authority. Participation in the study was voluntary and all respondents signed informed consent. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data.ResultsOf the 109 hospitals approached to participate in the study, 61 (55.9%) hospitals responded. This represented 83.3% (n = 5) of Third Level Hospitals (TLH), 89.5% (n = 17) of Second Level Hospitals (SLH) and 41.7% (n = 35) of First Level Hospitals (FLH) countrywide. Of the participating hospitals, 6.6% (n = 4) were unclassified. Within this sample, 8.6% (n = 3) FLH, 11.8% (n = 2) SLH and 60.0% (n = 3) TLH had an ENT examination room. Only 2.9% (n = 4) hospitals had an audiology booth and 1.6% (n = 1) had a speech therapy room. Of the second and third level hospitals, 9.1% (n = 2) had flexible rhinolaryngoscopes, 18.2% (n = 4) had operating microscopes and 68.2% (n = 15) adenotonsillectomy sets. The data revealed that there were 4 ENT surgeons, 1 Audiologist and no Speech Therapists across the country.ConclusionZambia’s ENT services were deficient at all levels of hospital care. There were deficiencies in infrastructure, human resource and equipment in hospitals. With the current burden of disease, critical intervention is required. These findings should be used to direct national policy on the improvement of ENT service provision in Zambia.

【 授权许可】

CC BY