Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Miriam Orcutt, Dr Catherine DotchinORCiD, Professor Richard Walker
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
© Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a rapidly aging population is presenting challenges to health care systems. Doctors need specialized knowledge to be prepared for the increase in age-related medical conditions. This study aims to investigate the current provision of geriatrics education (GE) in SSA medical schools and discover some of the barriers faced in its implementation. Questionnaires were sent to a list of medical schools in SSA, supplied by the sub-Saharan African Medical Schools Study. Responses were received from 25/135 institutions (19%), representing 11 countries in SSA. Of these institutions, 4% taught geriatrics and 40% had no geriatrics teaching. The largest perceived barriers to GE were a lack of staff expertise (72%), lack of funding (52%), and absence of geriatrics in the national curricula (48%). There are still a large number of medical schools in SSA who do not teach geriatrics. Improvements in GE should be implemented through local approaches and national policy, while appreciating the cultural context and economic constraints of each country to prepare future doctors for the increasing challenges of an aging population.
Author(s): Frost L, Liddie Navarro A, Lynch M, Campbell M, Orcutt M, Trelfa A, Dotchin C, Walker R
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
Year: 2015
Volume: 36
Issue: 1
Pages: 14-29
Online publication date: 02/06/2014
Acceptance date: 01/01/1900
ISSN (print): 0270-1960
ISSN (electronic): 1545-3847
Publisher: Routledge
URL: http://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2014.925886
DOI: 10.1080/02701960.2014.925886
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric