Forrester & Bendjemil Receive 2024 CIGH Seed Grant Funding

We are excited to announce that Stanford’s Department of Surgery is partnering with healthcare institutions in Burkina Faso to launch an innovative trauma care education program.

Project Name:

Trauma Emergency Education Curriculum Implementation for Burkina Faso Physicians

Principal Investigators:

Samy Bendjemil, MD, MPH, Trauma & Surgical Critical Care Fellow, and Joseph Forrester, MD, MSc, FACS, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Stanford Medicine

Background:

Traumatic injuries are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with a disproportionate burden falling on low- and middle-income countries. In Burkina Faso, a West African nation of over 20 million people, the lack of formal trauma training and limited healthcare infrastructure significantly hinders effective response to injuries. Since 2021 Dr. Bendjemil and the non-profit Pull for Progress have implemented lay person pre-hospital hemorrhage control education using a picture-based Stop the Bleed curriculum in collaboration with academic institutions in Burkina Faso and with support from the United States Embassy. However, there remains no existing curriculum for hospital-based trauma education for healthcare workers.

The project:

To address this critical gap, this team from Stanford University Department of Surgery is partnering with key institutions in Burkina Faso to launch TraumaEd Burkina Faso, an innovative trauma care education program. This program aims to implement the country's first comprehensive, hospital-based trauma management curriculum, combining internationally recognized training methods with locally-tailored approaches. By equipping healthcare professionals with essential trauma care skills and introducing advanced diagnostic techniques, TraumaEd Burkina Faso seeks to enhance emergency medical services, improve patient outcomes, and establish a sustainable model for trauma education in resource-limited settings.

Over the next year and a half "TraumaEd Burkina Faso" project will:

• Implement the first hospital-based trauma management curriculum in the country
• Train 200+ healthcare professionals in essential trauma care skills
• Introduce ultrasound training for trauma assessment
• Build local capacity for sustainable trauma education using a cascading training of trainers model

“One of the most exciting aspects of this research proposal is its potential for lasting, systemic impact on Burkina Faso's healthcare infrastructure,” Dr. Bendjemil said of the team’s work. “By leveraging strong existing partnerships with key stakeholders, the project is strategically positioned to lay the foundations for a sustainable trauma education program.”

This collaboration between Stanford, Pull for Progress, the Primary Trauma Care Foundation, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, and Bogodogo University Hospital aims to significantly improve trauma care and save lives in Burkina Faso.

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About Stanford Surgery

The Stanford University Department of Surgery is dedicated to inventing the future of surgical care through:

• pioneering cutting-edge research, 
• developing the next generation of leaders, and 
• healing through incomparable surgical skills and compassion. 

To learn more, please visit surgery.stanford.edu