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Care of the Elderly: Survey of Teaching in an Aging Sub-Saharan Africa

Lookup NU author(s): Miriam Orcutt, Dr Catherine DotchinORCiD, Professor Richard Walker

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Abstract

© 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.

Publication metadata

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

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