Kenya

Number of First Responders: 484

Background

In 2019, LFR International began a formal partnership with Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), located in Kakamega County, Kenya and the University of Michigan Center for Global Surgery. The goals of the partnership are twofold: firstly, LFR teams are working with MMUST to assess the status of prehospital trauma care on a national scale in order to determine the most effective way to meet Kenya’s trauma care needs. Secondly, in partnership with the University of Michigan, LFR International is collaborating with MMUST to build the research capacity of its Department of Paramedical Sciences by teaching courses in scientific methods, data collection, and analysis to bolster collaborative research efforts. After completing our joint national assessment of emergency medical services, project partners aim to train a cohort of lay first responders to serve Kakamega county before expanding into Kenya’s 46 other counties.

In 2022, 86 volunteers were trained as trainers, preparing for a large scale deployment of the training of trainers (TOT) model. In 2023, these trainers assisted in the Deploying Emergency Bystander Internet Training (DEBIT) trial, training an additional 300 first responders to investigate the efficacy of in-person vs. online training.

In 2024, LFR International was able to train an additional 101 LFRs as part of the TOT model, across 4 of the 12 subcounties in Kakamega. A 3-month follow up assessment was conducted to assess knowledge retention and obtain LFR First Aid Kit usage and appropriateness data (manuscript linked below). Additionally, a Delphi study was conducted utilizing the knowledge of 26 parademics and paramedic professors at MMUST, to gain consensus on a Level 2 Advanced Cardiac Life Support training model that LFR International is currently developing (manuscrupt pending).

Metrics

LFR International’s Partners: MMUST and Michigan Center for Global Surgery

  • 715 PETCAT Surveys administered to healthcare providers in all 47 counties of Kenya

  • 4,000+ hospital-terminating EMS incidents individually reviewed to evaluate national trauma capacity

  • 27 MMUST Masters students completed our joint course in Medical Statistics in R

  • 184 Trainers trained in TOT course

  • 400+ LFRs trained in DEBIT Trials

LFR International’s Kenya Team with Shinyalu subcounty’s LFRs and TOTs.

LFR International’s Kenya Team with paramedics and paramedic professors at MMUST.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. Pan African Medical Journal. "Evaluating lay first responder (LFR) first aid kit supplies usage and appropriateness in Western Kenya.” Kulkarni AJ, Thiagarajan AB, Ogana SO, Okwiri DA, Arudo J, Smith N, Eisner ZJ, Delaney, P. {Publication}