South African National Blood Service, Roodepoort, South Africa.
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Transfusion. 2021 Jun;61(6):1955-1965. doi: 10.1111/trf.16372. Epub 2021 Mar 19.
Avoidable human error is a significant cause of transfusion adverse events. Adequately trained, laboratory staff in blood establishments and blood banks, collectively blood facilities, are key in ensuring high-quality transfusion medicine (TM) services. Gaps in TM education and training of laboratory staff exist in most African countries. We assessed the status of the training and education of laboratory staff working in blood facilities in Africa.
A cross-sectional study using a self-administered pilot-tested questionnaire was performed. The questionnaire comprised 26 questions targeting six themes. Blood facilities from 16 countries were invited to participate. Individually completed questionnaires were grouped by country and descriptive analysis performed.
Ten blood establishments and two blood banks from eight African countries confirmed the availability of a host of training programs for laboratory staff; the majority of which were syllabus or curriculum-guided and focused on both theoretical and practical laboratory skills development. Training was usually preplanned, dependent on student and trainer availability and delivered through lecture-based classroom training as well as formal and informal on the job training. There were minimal online didactic and self-directed learning. Teaching of humanistic values appeared to be lacking.
We confirmed the availability of diverse training programs across a variety of African countries. Incorporation of virtual learning platforms, rather than complete reliance on didactic, in-person training programs may improve the education reach of the existing programs. Digitalization driven by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic may provide an opportunity to narrow the knowledge gap in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
人为错误是导致输血不良事件的重要原因。经过充分培训的血液机构和血库（统称为血液中心）的实验室工作人员，是确保高质量输血医学（TM）服务的关键。大多数非洲国家的实验室工作人员在 TM 教育和培训方面都存在差距。我们评估了非洲血液中心实验室工作人员的培训和教育现状。
采用横断面研究设计，使用自我管理的预试验调查问卷。问卷包含 26 个问题，针对六个主题。邀请来自 16 个国家的血液中心参与。单独填写的问卷按国家分组，进行描述性分析。
来自八个非洲国家的 10 个血液机构和 2 个血库证实，实验室工作人员拥有一系列培训计划；其中大多数计划都是以教学大纲或课程为指导，重点是实验室理论和实践技能的发展。培训通常是预先计划的，取决于学生和培训师的可用性，并通过基于讲座的课堂培训以及正式和非正式的在职培训来进行。在线教学和自我指导学习很少。人文价值观的教学似乎有所欠缺。
我们证实了在各种非洲国家都有多样化的培训计划。在现有的培训计划中加入虚拟学习平台，而不是完全依赖于理论性的面对面培训，可能会提高教育的覆盖面。由 2019 冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行驱动的数字化可能为缩小中低收入国家（LMICs）的知识差距提供机会。
