Presenter: Dr Amy Gray

Synopsis:Clinical guidelines are a core part of patient management at hospitals such as RCH but in some countries their use is in its infancy. Such is the case in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Laos has among the highest child mortality rates in the Asia-Pacific region, limited resources for health, and a medical education system that lacks critical capacity. Understanding the context in Laos is crucial to appropriately targeting an intervention such as the introduction of clinical guidelines, and also to understanding how, why and if they may have an impact on health outcomes for children.

Amy Gray is a General Paediatrician who lived and worked in Lao PDR between 2009 and 2011 while undertaking her PhD through the Centre for International Child Health on the implementation of the WHO Hospital Care for Children guidelines. During her time in Laos she coordinated the Lao Paediatric Residency Training program and provided support to other medical education and child health activities.

Grand Round presented 27 June 2012