Enhancing trauma care in Ukraine amid conflict: A successful implementation of the modified advanced trauma life support course in an active war zone

Background Following the 2022 Russian invasion, Ukraine's healthcare system suffered extensive damage, with over 1000 medical facilities destroyed, exacerbating the trauma care crisis. The absence of standardized trauma training left Ukrainian healthcare providers ill‐equipped to manage the sur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World journal of surgery 2024-11, Vol.48 (11), p.2716-2727
Main Authors: Dzhemiliev, Ali, Lienau, Beck, Melnitchouk, Nelya, Schmid, Alexis, Loevinsohn, Gideon, Lopatniuk, Oleksii, Carton‐Rossen, Noah, Sydlowski, Meaghan, Darnytskyi, Anton, Murray, Kathleen, Kushner, Olha, Strong, Jonathan, Martin, Lindsey, Ali, Javed, Roberts, John, Mooney, David, Hochman, Beth, Owens, Mike, Sidhwa, Feroze, Rudas, Ivan, Hvozd, Vladyslav, Aksenkova, Susanna, Mazurenko, Oleg V., Kliukach, Kyrylo, Kivlehan, Sean M., Anderson, Geoffrey A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
advanced trauma life support
Advanced Trauma Life Support Care
Armed Conflicts
ATLS teaching in a war zone
ATLS training in Ukraine
Curriculum
Humans
trauma during wartime
trauma education in Ukraine
Traumatology - education
Ukraine
Ukrainian healthcare crisis
Warfare
Wounds and Injuries - therapy
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Summary:Background Following the 2022 Russian invasion, Ukraine's healthcare system suffered extensive damage, with over 1000 medical facilities destroyed, exacerbating the trauma care crisis. The absence of standardized trauma training left Ukrainian healthcare providers ill‐equipped to manage the surge in trauma cases amid conflict. To bridge this gap, we implemented advanced trauma life support (ATLS) courses in Ukraine amid active warfare, aiming to enhance trauma care expertise among healthcare professionals. Methods A consortium, including the International Medical Corps, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and others, responded to a request from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. The ATLS curriculum, translated into Ukrainian, guided the training, with US‐based instructors sent to Ukraine for teaching. Despite logistical challenges, such as missile attacks and curfews, the courses ran in multiple Ukrainian cities over 3 months. Course effectiveness was evaluated through pre‐ and post‐course knowledge tests, self‐efficacy surveys, and satisfaction assessments. Results Ten ATLS courses trained 213 Ukrainian healthcare providers across five deployments. Significant improvements in knowledge scores (p 
ISSN:0364-2313
1432-2323
1432-2323
DOI:10.1002/wjs.12362