ABSTRACT
To date, insulin therapy remains the cornerstone of diabetes management; but the art of injecting insulin is still poorly understood in many health facilities. To address this gap, the Forum for Injection Technique and Therapy Expert Recommendations (FITTER) published recommendations on injection technique after a workshop held in Rome, Italy in 2015. These recommendations are generally applicable to the majority of patients on insulin therapy, athough they do not explore alternative details that may be suitable for low- and middle-income countries. The East Africa Diabetes Study Group sought to address this gap, and furthermore to seek consensus on some of the contextual issues pertaining to insulin therapy within the East African region, specifically focusing on scarcity of resources and its adverse effect on the quality of care. A meeting of health care professionals, experts in diabetes management and patients using insulin, was convened in Kigali, Rwanda on 11 March 2018, and the following recommendations were made: (1) insulin should be transported safely, without undue shaking and exposure to high (> 32 °C) temperature environments. (2) Insulin should not be transported below 0 °C. (3) If insulin is to be stored at home for over 2 months, it should be stored at the recommended temperature of 2-8 °C. (4) Appropriate instructions should be given to patients while dispensing insulin. (5) Insulin in use should be kept at room temperature and should never be kept immersed under water. Immersing insulin under water after the vial has been pierced carries a high risk of contamination, leading to loss of potency and likelihood of causing injection abscesses. (6) The shortest available needles (4 mm for pen and 6 mm for insulin syringe) should be preferred for all patients. (7) In routine care, intramuscular injections should be avoided, especially with long-acting insulins, as it may result in severe hypoglycaemia. (8) The practice of slanting the needle excessively should be avoided as it results in sub-epidermal injection of insulin which leads to poor absorption and may cause "tattooing" of the skin and scarring. (9) In patients presenting in a wasted state, with "paper-like skin", injections should, if possible, be initiated with pen injection devices, so as to utilise the 4-mm needle without lifting a skin fold (pinching the skin); otherwise lifting of a skin fold is required, if longer needles are utilised. (10) Reuse of needles and syringes is not recommended. However, as the reuse of syringes and needles is practiced for various reasons, and by many patients, individuals should not be given alarming messages; and usage should be limited to discarding when injections become more painful; but at any rate not to exceed reusing a needle more than 5 times.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The year-long position of chief medical resident is a time-honored tradition in the United States that serves to provide the trainee with an opportunity to gain further skills as a clinician, leader, teacher, liaison, and administrator. However, in most training programs in the developing world, this role does not exist. OBJECTIVES: We sought to develop a collaborative program to train the first medical chief residents for the University of Rwanda and to assess the impact of the new chief residency on residency training, using questionnaires and qualitative interviews with Rwandan faculty, chief residents, and residents. METHODS: The educational context and the process leading up to the appointment of Rwandan chief residents, including selection, job description, and necessary training (in the United States and Rwanda), are described. One year after implementation, we used a parallel, mixed methods approach to evaluate the new chief medical resident program through resident surveys as well as semistructured interviews with key informants, including site chief residents, chief residents, and faculty. We also observed chief residents and site chief residents at work and convened focus groups with postgraduate residents to yield additional qualitative information. RESULTS: Rwandan faculty and residents generally felt that the new position had improved the educational and administrative structure of the teaching program while providing a training ground for future academicians. CONCLUSIONS: A collaborative training program between developing and developed world academic institutions provides an efficient model for the development of a new chief residency program in the developing world.
