Electrodiagnostic referrals and neuromuscular disease pattern in East Africa: Experience from a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia

Zewde, Yared Zenebe; Ayele, Biniyam A.; Belay, Hanna Demissie; Oda, Dereje Melka; G/Wolde, Meron Awraris; Gelan, Yohannese; Kelemu, Fikru T.; Gigssa, Seid Ali; Mengesha, Abenet Tafesse

doi:10.1016/j.cnp.2022.02.001

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Between 2021 and 2023, a total of 61 manuscripts were authored by our alumni, including 27 original research articles, 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 16 case reports, 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 2 perspective pieces, 50 51 3 review articles, 52 53 54 1 book chapter, 55 1 association statement, 56 1 consensus statement, 57 1 data note, 58 and 8 that were published on a preprint server (not peer reviewed). 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Of these academic contributions, 19 of these papers were published in journals with an impact factor of 3.0 to 10.0.…”

Section: Impact Of the Neurology Training Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurology Training and Medical Education in Resource-Limited Settings: Building and Growing the First Neurology Residency Program in East Africa

Belay,

Gebrewold,

Ayele

et al. 2024

Semin Neurol

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The burden of neurological disease disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, where the lowest number of neurologists are located. Building local training opportunities in resource-limited settings is a foundational step to enhancing the neurological workforce and improving access to neurological care in these regions. In this article, we describe the development and growth of the first neurology residency program in East Africa, which was established in 2006 at Zewditu Memorial Hospital and the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. We highlight the impact of the program on clinical care, research, collaborations between neurologists across Ethiopia, and ways to build educational opportunities and mentorship while faced with limited resources. The main challenges in starting the residency program included lack of faculty with neurological expertise, lack of a precedent for subspecialty training in our setting, as well as limited resources and space. The formation of sustainable international collaborations with clinicians at established institutions in high-income countries and neurological societies has been a major source of support in developing the initial infrastructure, curriculum and educational content, knowledge assessments, and mentored research projects. Local partnerships with related medical specialties, including internal medicine, critical care, neurological surgery, and psychiatry, were also instrumental in creating training opportunities. As the program continues to evolve, many challenges remain, including limited diagnostics, lack of access to advanced treatment modalities, lack of fellowship training opportunities in various neurological subspecialties, and insufficient training and experience in scientific writing. Despite these challenges, the residency program has persevered and its creation resulted in many positive changes: since its inception in 2006, we graduated 80 neurologists and the number of practicing neurologists in Ethiopia has increased from 5 to 78, our institution has evolved into a national referral center for neurology, graduates have published 61 articles in the past 3 years and contributed to international neurology research, and alumni of the program have grown the Association of Ethiopian Neurologists. Future directions include development of fellowship opportunities, creation of international rotations, and implementation of teleneurology to further strengthen neurological care across Ethiopia.

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