Clinical Officer Surgical Training in Africa (COST-Africa)

Clinical Officer surgical training in Africa (COST-Africa): a cluster randomised controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN66099597

Enrollment

Registered

2014-02-27

Start date

2011-04-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-01-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Diseases / conditions amenable to surgery Surgery

Interventions

Random allocation of district hospitals to intervention and control arms within pairs of similar (matched) district hospitals in Malawi and Zambia. 1. Intervention arm: the selected c

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: District hospitals with the infrastructural capacity to delivery surgery

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Children under five years of age attending district hospitals

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Increase in the types and volume (numbers) of general surgical procedures at the interventions hospitals	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1 Improved competence of COs/MLs to undertake general surgery, measured in terms of enhancements in: 1.1. Their surgical skills 1.2. Clinical management of patients 1.3. Implementation of clinical best practice protocols 1.4. Health care of patients 2. Change in rates of referral for general surgical procedures. 3. Change in morbidity and mortality from surgical conditions, improved quality of life 4. Reduced expenditure, both for hospitals providing surgery and patients undergoing surgery 5. Cost effectiveness in delivering general surgery by COs/MLs at the district level	—

Measure

Time frame

1 Improved competence of COs/MLs to undertake general surgery, measured in terms of enhancements in: 1.1. Their surgical skills 1.2. Clinical management of patients 1.3. Implementation of clinical best practice protocols 1.4. Health care of patients 2. Change in rates of referral for general surgical procedures. 3. Change in morbidity and mortality from surgical conditions, improved quality of life 4. Reduced expenditure, both for hospitals providing surgery and patients undergoing surgery 5. Cost effectiveness in delivering general surgery by COs/MLs at the district level

—

Countries

Malawi, Zambia

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 21, 2026