Mwandri, M.Walsh, M.Frantz, Jose M.Delport, R.2017-12-132017-12-132017Mwandri, M. et al. (2017). The use of low-cost simulation in a resource-constrained teaching environment. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 9(4): 168 - 1702078-5127http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/AJHPE.2017.v9i4.829http://hdl.handle.net/10566/3324BACKGROUND. To improve the management of chest trauma at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, we incorporated simulation into a theorybased chest trauma module by developing procedural guides, checklists and low-cost simulation. OBJECTIVES. To assess the suitability of low-cost simulation-based training and its impact on students’ proficiency, as well as its general acceptability. METHODS. A total of 39 medical students who completed their surgical rotation and 20 intern doctors in their first clinical rotation participated. A checklist was used in a pre- and post-test design to assess procedural proficiency, and a rating system categorised scores. Thirteen content-based items assessed the students’ knowledge relating to the diagnosis and management of a chest injury and one item assessed their ability to perform the procedure correctly. A questionnaire was administered after the second assessment to evaluate the acceptability of the training module. Findings were summarised by median, proportion and range, and pre- and post-test outcomes were compared by Student’s paired t-test. RESULTS. Pre- and post-test assessment scores differed significantly (median (range) 11.3 (4.5 - 21.0) and 19.5 (15.5 - 23.0), respectively (p<0.001)). The proportions of participants’ scores categorised as ‘full proficiency’ rose from 7% to 42%, and ‘reasonable proficiency’ from 30% to 60%, while both ‘some proficiency’ and ‘poor proficiency’ decreased from 50% and 20% to 0%. Most (93%) participants ‘strongly agreed’ that the training module was acceptable. CONCLUSION. Our results demonstrate the suitability of low-cost simulation for training and assessment in resource-constrained settings.enThis open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.Surgical skillLow-cost simulationChest injurySurgical skills assessmentLow-middle-income-countriesArticle