Volume 48, Issue 11 pp. 2716-2727
ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC REPORT

Enhancing trauma care in Ukraine amid conflict: A successful implementation of the modified advanced trauma life support course in an active war zone

Ali Dzhemiliev

Corresponding Author

Ali Dzhemiliev

Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Correspondence

Ali Dzhemiliev, Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 230 Gerry Rd, Boston, MA 02467, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Beck Lienau

Beck Lienau

Division of Trauma, Burns, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Nelya Melnitchouk

Nelya Melnitchouk

Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Alexis Schmid

Alexis Schmid

Global Health Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Gideon Loevinsohn

Gideon Loevinsohn

Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Writing - original draft

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Oleksii Lopatniuk

Oleksii Lopatniuk

International Medical Corps, Kyiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Noah Carton-Rossen

Noah Carton-Rossen

Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing - review & editing

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Meaghan Sydlowski

Meaghan Sydlowski

International Medical Corps, Los Angeles, California, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Anton Darnytskyi

Anton Darnytskyi

International Medical Corps, Kyiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Kathleen Murray

Kathleen Murray

Emergency Health Systems, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Olha Kushner

Olha Kushner

International Medical Corps, Kyiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Resources, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Jonathan Strong

Jonathan Strong

Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, ​Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing - original draft

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Lindsey Martin

Lindsey Martin

Global Disaster Response and Humanitarian Action, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing - review & editing

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Javed Ali

Javed Ali

International Medical Corps, Los Angeles, California, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Validation, Writing - original draft

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John Roberts

John Roberts

International Medical Corps, Los Angeles, California, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft

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David Mooney

David Mooney

Trauma Center, Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Software, Validation, Writing - original draft

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Beth Hochman

Beth Hochman

Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft

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Mike Owens

Mike Owens

Emergency Medicine, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft

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Feroze Sidhwa

Feroze Sidhwa

Department of Surgery, San Joaquin General Hospital, French Camp, California, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Ivan Rudas

Ivan Rudas

V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Vladyslav Hvozd

Vladyslav Hvozd

V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - review & editing

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Susanna Aksenkova

Susanna Aksenkova

V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft

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Oleg V. Mazurenko

Oleg V. Mazurenko

Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Kyrylo Kliukach

Kyrylo Kliukach

Dnipro Regional Center of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Dnipro, Ukraine

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Sean M. Kivlehan

Sean M. Kivlehan

Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Emergency Health Systems, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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Geoffrey A. Anderson

Geoffrey A. Anderson

Center for Surgery and Public Health, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Division of Trauma, Burns, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, ​Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

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First published: 07 October 2024

Ali Dzhemiliev and Beck Lienau both the authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Background

Following the 2022 Russian invasion, Ukraine's healthcare system suffered extensive damage, with over 1000 medical facilities destroyed, exacerbating the trauma care crisis. The absence of standardized trauma training left Ukrainian healthcare providers ill-equipped to manage the surge in trauma cases amid conflict. To bridge this gap, we implemented advanced trauma life support (ATLS) courses in Ukraine amid active warfare, aiming to enhance trauma care expertise among healthcare professionals.

Methods

A consortium, including the International Medical Corps, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and others, responded to a request from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. The ATLS curriculum, translated into Ukrainian, guided the training, with US-based instructors sent to Ukraine for teaching. Despite logistical challenges, such as missile attacks and curfews, the courses ran in multiple Ukrainian cities over 3 months. Course effectiveness was evaluated through pre- and post-course knowledge tests, self-efficacy surveys, and satisfaction assessments.

Results

Ten ATLS courses trained 213 Ukrainian healthcare providers across five deployments. Significant improvements in knowledge scores (p < 0.05) and enhanced self-reported confidence in trauma management were observed. Notably, no casualties were reported among instructors or students, highlighting program safety despite security challenges.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates successful ATLS course implementation in an active war zone, filling a critical gap in trauma education in Ukraine. Despite challenges, the program significantly enhanced participants' trauma care knowledge and confidence. Collaboration between international and local partners was pivotal. This model can serve as a valuable framework for trauma education globally, improving outcomes in conflict zones and resource-limited settings.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors confirm there are no financial or other conflicts of interest.

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