International Information: Madang
The AVRU has several projects in the beautiful northern PNG province of Madang. Firstly, in September 2005, in collaboration with Divine Word University, we commenced the first annual toxinology teaching course for third year Health Extension Officer (HEO) students. A second course was held in August-September 2006 and has now educated more than 150 HEO's, HEO students, nurses and community workers. This course, particularly focused on issues of snakebite management, complements the PNG based courses for HEO's in the southern provinces and the one day hospital courses that have now been held at Port Moresby General Hospital (Central Province) and Alotau Hospital (Milne Bay Province). |  |
| Secondly, David Williams is collaborating with Dr Vincent Atua, advanced trainee in Emergency Medicine at Madang's General Hospital, in the first practical trial of the community based teaching of the Pressure Immobilisation Bandanging technique for snakebite first aid. This project is a means of quantifying the potential for the success of a national snakebite first aid training programme by determining the ability of ordinary people to learn and remember this potentially life-saving first aid technique. The results of the study will be used to refine and improve current snakebite first aid training methodology in PNG. Dr Atua (shown at right undertaking fieldwork on Kar Kar Island offshore Madang Province) presented the successful preliminary results from this study at the PNG Medical Symposium at Divine Word University in September 2006. He was awarded the Dean's Prize for the best new scientist for this presentation. | |