The Burn Burden

Hopital Principal Dakar

Photo by Ashley Bersani

Home to more than 3 million people, the capital city of Dakar, Senegal is a bustling metropolis full of growth, change and an explosion of secondary schools and universities. Hôpital Principal de Dakar is the main public health hospital in the city.

 

The extrapolated burn rate in Senegal is 250/100,000 (2009) and the major cause of burn-related mortality is infection, which is linked to:

  • Lack of immediate care;
  • Absence of sequential excision;
  • Lack of alternatives to an autograft for severe lesions.

 

While we have this overall perspective on burns in Senegal, it is an incomplete picture that does not describe how, why and where people are being burned, when they seek medical care, and what follow-up protocols are in place.

Thus, we adjusted the GBI activities to include a Needs Assessment to determine answers to these and other questions. A Needs Assessment:

 

  • Is a systematic approach and common public health tool utilized to ensure that programs and interventions appropriately address population-based needs;
  • Aims to determine the most effective way to utilize services and resources to improve the health of a population.

 

 

 

 

Find Out About How This Initiative Began 

 


 

 

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