Advancing access to care: An assessment of the prehospital system in Senegal.

BACKGROUND: Most low- and middle-income countries do not have a mature prehospital system limiting access to definitive care. This study sought to describe the current state of the prehospital system in Senegal and offer recommendations aimed at improving system capacity and population access to definitive care.

METHODS: Structured interviews were conducted with key informants in various regions throughout the country using qualitative and quantitative techniques. A standardized questionnaire was generated using needs assessment forms and system frameworks. Descriptive statistics were performed for quantitative data analysis, and qualitative data was consolidated and presented using ATLAS.ti.

RESULTS: Two (20%) of the studied regions, Dakar and Saint-Louis, had a mature prehospital system in place, including dispatch centers and teams of trained personnel utilizing equipped ambulances. 80% of the studied regions lacked an established prehospital system. The vast majority of the population relied on the fire department for transport to a healthcare facility. The ambulances in rural regions were not part of a formal prehospital system, were not equipped with life-support supplies, and were limited to inter-facility transfers.

CONCLUSIONS: While Dakar and Saint-Louis have mature prehospital systems, the rest of the country is served by the fire department. There are significant opportunities to further strengthen the prehospital system in rural Senegal by training the fire department in basic life support and first aid, maintaining cost efficiency, and building on existing national resources. This has the potential to significantly improve access to definitive care and outcomes of emergent illness in the Senegalese community.