Abstract

Critical care is underprioritized. A global call to action is needed to increase equitable access to care and the quality of care provided to critically ill patients. Current challenges to effective critical care in resource-constrained settings are many. Estimates of the burden of critical illness are extrapolated from common etiologies, but the true burden remains ill-defined. Measuring the burden of critical illness is epidemiologically challenging but is thought to be increasing. Resources, infrastructure, and training are inadequate. Millions die unnecessarily due to critical illness. Solutions start with the implementation of first-step, patient care fundamentals known as Essential Emergency and Critical Care. Such essential care stands to decrease critical-illness mortality, augment pandemic preparedness, decrease postoperative mortality, and decrease the need for advanced level care. The entire healthcare workforce must be trained in these fundamentals. Additionally, physician and nurse specialists trained in critical care are needed and must be retained as leaders of critical care initiatives, researchers, and teachers. Context-specific research is mandatory to ensure care is appropriate for the patient populations served, not just duplicated from high-resourced settings. Governments must increase healthcare spending and invest in capacity to treat critically ill patients. Advocacy at all levels is needed to achieve universal health coverage for critically ill patients.

Details

Title
Global critical care: a call to action
Author
Crawford, Ana Maria; Ananya Abate Shiferaw; Ntambwe, Papytcho; Alexei Ortiz Milan; Khalid, Karima; Rubio, Rodrigo; Nizeyimana, Francoise; Ariza, Fredy; Alhassan Datti Mohammed; Baker, Tim; Paulin Ruhato Banguti; Madzimbamuto, Farai
Pages
1-8
Section
Review
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
BioMed Central
ISSN
13648535
e-ISSN
1366609X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2777783174
Copyright
© 2023. This work is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.