Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Delays in getting injured patients to hospital in a timely manner can increase avoidable death and disability. Like many low- or middle-income countries (LMICs), Rwanda experiences delays related to lack of efficient prehospital communication and formal guidelines to triage patients for hospital care. This paper describes the protocol to develop, roll out, and evaluate the effectiveness of a Destination Decision Support Algorithm (DDSA) integrated in an electronic communication platform, '912Rwanda'. The DDSA will facilitate the linkage of patients to health facilities able to treat their condition(s). Work will be conducted in three phases: i. development, ii. training and roll-out, and iii. evaluation. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Work will be conducted in the pre-hospital emergency service "SAMU - Service d'Aide Medicale Urgente" and health facilities in Kigali City and Musanze District, which serve predominately urban and rural populations, respectively. We will develop interfaces to capture facility and patient-relevant data, which feed into a guideline-based electronic DDSA to match patients to hospitals. We will assess existing trauma care processes using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This will be followed by a series of consensus workshops to develop at-scene triage guidelines and agree variables to capture in the interfaces. The DDSA will be developed based on outputs from these workshops and tested against historical ambulance data and expert opinion until acceptable thresholds of performance are passed. User interfaces will be developed and tested using human computer interface design principles. DISCUSSION: The combined collaborative approach of bringing together experts and software developers, and with deep engagement of Rwandan stakeholders, including leadership of Rwanda Ministry of health through its technical arm, the Rwanda Biomedical Center, should lead to an ambulance communication system which is utilized, sustained, and effective.