Academic Pediatric Surgery Capacity Building in Vietnam Through PASS, a Pediatric Acute Surgical Support Course

Abstract

Neonatal and pediatric surgical emergencies in Low and Low Middle Income countries remain a significant challenge in combatting the burden and inequities of global health. IPSAC-Vietnam is a small Non-Governmental Organization that has been engaged in a 12-year multi-pronged partnership with several children's hospitals in Vietnam VN to enhance pediatric surgery capacity. We describe the health care, medical training and emergency system in VN as the background for IPSAC activities and development of Pediatric Acute Surgical Support (PASS) course. The course goal is to prepare health care personnel in the immediate management of neonatal/pediatric life-threatening surgical conditions and road injuries at their first point of entry into Vietnam hospitals. PASS is a horizontal outreach initiative that adopts an interprofessional, multidisciplinary, team-training, train-the-trainers, and outcome-based training approach. PASS can be used as a tool for sustainable horizontal capacity-building by champion leaders at the teaching children's hospitals and medical universities in developing countries, to strengthen training for pediatric surgical emergencies, to integrate pediatric and pediatric surgical care and to advocate for a comprehensive approach to emergency care of the critically ill child.

Keywords: Training 3; Vietnam 1; capacity building 5; global health; pediatric emergencies 6; pediatric surgical emergencies 2.

Figure 1

Map of Vietnam and sites of IPSAC-VN activities in Vietnam. Level 1 Children's Hospital CH (in shading circle and asterisk in the map); the National Children's Hospital 1 NCH in the capital city of Hanoi, and Children's Hospital 1 (CH1), Children's Hospital 2 (CH2), City Children's Hospital. (CCH) in Ho Chi Minh City. Level 2 CH (in shading ellipse in the map); with Danang Women and Children's Hospital DWCH, Thanh Hoa Pediatric Hospital and Can Tho Children's Hospital (CTCH). The adult hospitals (in white circle in the map); with Hue Central Hospital and Kon Tum General Hospital. The teaching universities (in white circle and asterisk in the map); Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy; University of Science. The initiating years of the activities are depicted, with ongoing efforts at 1. CH1, 3. DWCH, 4. NCH, 8. CTCH, 9. CCH.

Figure 2

Diagram of Phases 1 and 2 of CH1-IPSAC joint surgical capacity building at the affiliated hospitals to relieve patients’ surgical burden.