07 April 2020
On February 29, 2020, AO Alliance held its first seminar for media professionals in Yaoundé, on the theme of information, education and communication on fractures. This seminar, organized in collaboration with the Association of Scientific Journalists and Communicators for Health Promotion and the Cameroonian Association for Osteosynthesis, brought together 40 participants, all of them members of the country’s news industry.
The objective of this seminar was to inform participants about the issues related to injuries in Cameroon and show them the main challenges of fracture care, so that they can in turn inform and raise awareness among their audiences about this silent epidemic and its prevention.
At the opening of the event, Dr Florent Anicet Lekina (Course Chair, AO Alliance Steering Committee Chair for French-speaking Africa, President of the Cameroonian Association for Osteosynthesis) highlighted the important role of the media in conveying best practices: « We hope that once you have the right information, you can pass it on to our populations so that they can make the right decisions when the situation arises.»[1]
The seminar included short didactic presentations on, for example, the definition of a fracture, how to treat it, possible complications, the health and socioeconomic impacts of fractures; and practical exercises in the form of demonstrations on artificial bones illustrating various treatment techniques. The seminar was taught by eight Cameroonian doctors.
At the conclusion of the event, feedback from the participants was very positive. All complimented the quality of the presentations and practical workshops; they felt that they had become more informed about a subject they had little or no prior knowledge of. When asked “What are the most interesting points that you have learned?”, complications arising from poorly treated fractures and their socioeconomic consequences made the strongest impression on participants.
[1] Afrikano.net as of 19 March 2020.
