Background: The Rwanda Human Resources for Health Program (HRH Program) is a 7-year (2012-2019) health professional training initiative led by the Government of Rwanda with the goals of training a large, diverse, and competent health workforce and strengthening the capacity of academic institutions in Rwanda. Methods: The data for this organizational case study was collected through official reports from the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MoH) and 22 participating US academic institutions, databases from the MoH and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) in Rwanda, and surveys completed by the co-authors. Results: In the first 5 years of the HRH Program, a consortium of US academic institutions has deployed an average of 99 visiting faculty per year to support 22 training programs, which are on track to graduate almost 4600 students by 2019. The HRH Program has also built capacity within the CMHS by promoting the recruitment of Rwandan faculty and the establishment of additional partnerships and collaborations with the US academic institutions. Conclusion: The milestones achieved by the HRH Program have been substantial although some challenges persist. These challenges include adequately supporting the visiting faculty; pairing them with Rwandan faculty (twinning); ensuring strong communication and coordination among stakeholders; addressing mismatches in priorities between donors and implementers; the execution of a sustainability strategy; and the decision by one of the donors not to renew funding beyond March 2017. Over the next 2 academic years, it is critical for the sustainability of the 22 training programs supported by the HRH Program that the health-related Schools at the CMHS significantly scale up recruitment of new Rwandan faculty. The HRH Program can serve as a model for other training initiatives implemented in countries affected by a severe shortage of health professionals.

IntroductionIntensive Care Unit (ICU) risk prediction models are used to compare outcomes for quality improvement initiatives, benchmarking, and research. While such models provide robust tools in high-income countries, an ICU risk prediction model has not been validated in a low-income country where ICU population characteristics are different from those in high-income countries, and where laboratory-based patient data are often unavailable. We sought to validate the Mortality Probability Admission Model, version III (MPM0-III) in two public ICUs in Rwanda and to develop a new Rwanda Mortality Probability Model (R-MPM) for use in low-income countries.MethodsWe prospectively collected data on all adult patients admitted to Rwanda’s two public ICUs between August 19, 2013 and October 6, 2014. We described demographic and presenting characteristics and outcomes. We assessed the discrimination and calibration of the MPM0-III model. Using stepwise selection, we developed a new logistic model for risk prediction, the R-MPM, and used bootstrapping techniques to test for optimism in the model.ResultsAmong 427 consecutive adults, the median age was 34 (IQR 25–47) years and mortality was 48.7%. Mechanical ventilation was initiated for 85.3%, and 41.9% received vasopressors. The MPM0-III predicted mortality with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.72 and Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-square statistic p = 0.024. We developed a new model using five variables: age, suspected or confirmed infection within 24 hours of ICU admission, hypotension or shock as a reason for ICU admission, Glasgow Coma Scale score at ICU admission, and heart rate at ICU admission. Using these five variables, the R-MPM predicted outcomes with area under the ROC curve of 0.81 with 95% confidence interval of (0.77, 0.86), and Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-square statistic p = 0.154.ConclusionsThe MPM0-III has modest ability to predict mortality in a population of Rwandan ICU patients. The R-MPM is an alternative risk prediction model with fewer variables and better predictive power. If validated in other critically ill patients in a broad range of settings, the model has the potential to improve the reliability of comparisons used for critical care research and quality improvement initiatives in low-income countries.

Pain is a characteristic of many medical conditions. In developing countries, pain is poorly managed due to scarce health resources, limited access to training and cultural attitudes. In this article, a focus group comprising anesthesia residents in Kigali, Rwanda, was conducted to determine how challenges to implementing pain management strategies are perceived, and to offer suggestions to overcoming these barriers.

BackgroundRwanda is a central African country with about 12 million inhabitants. The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi destroyed much of the infrastructure, including the health system. Although this has improved significantly, many challenges remain to be addressed. In this study, the prevalence of serological markers of past and ongoing hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and HBV vaccine related immunity was investigated in samples from blood donors from all regions of Rwanda.MethodsThe results from hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) analyses of all (45,061) blood donations collected countrywide in 2014 from 13,637 first time and 31,424 repeat blood donors were compiled. Samples from 581 HBsAg negative blood donors were selected for further analysis for antibodies against HBV, anti-HBs and anti-HBc. Additional 139 samples from HBsAg positive donors were analyzed for HBeAg/anti-HBe (132 samples) and for HBV DNA. The S-gene was amplified by PCR, products sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis was performed.ResultsHBsAg was found in 4.1% of first time donors with somewhat higher prevalence among those from the Central and Eastern regions than from other parts of the country. Indications of past infection was found in 21% of the HBsAg negative donors, 4.3% had only anti-HBs suggesting HBV vaccination. HBeAg was detected in 28 (21%), anti-HBe in 97 (73%), and both HBeAg and anti-HBe in 4 of 132 HBsAg positive donors. HBV DNA was found in 85 samples, and the complete S-gene was sequenced in 58 of those. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences revealed that all HBV strains belonged to subgenotype A1, and formed one clade in the phylogenetic tree. In addition, 12 strains from first time donors had a unique 18 amino acid deletion in the N-terminal part of the pre-S2 region.ConclusionThis study indicated that the prevalence of hepatitis B is intermediate in Rwanda and that the vaccination coverage is relatively low in young adults. All surveyed Rwandan blood donors were infected with similar subgenotype A1 strains, and a high frequency of those with anti-HBe had detectable HBV DNA. Several strains had in addition a unique pre-S2 deletion, the virulence of which needs to be further studied.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-2149-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.