Establishing the First Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program in Ghana

• Published in: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) Vol. 67; no. 8; pp. 1718 - 1723
• Main Authors: Essuman, Akye, Gold, Katherine J., Vitale, Caroline, Toma, Ghazwan, Cigolle, Christine, Gyakobo, Mawuli, Spangenberg, Kathryn, Odoi‐Agyarko, Kwasi, Skye, Eric, Zazove, Philip
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-08-2019; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Collaboration; Curriculum - standards; Fellowships and Scholarships - methods; Female; Geriatrics; Geriatrics - education; Ghana; graduate medical education; Humans; International Cooperation; Life span; Male; Models, Educational; older adults; Older people; training; United States; Universities; United States; Ghana; United States > US; graduate medical education; older adults; geriatrics; Ghana; training
• ISSN: 0002-8614; 1532-5415
• DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16014

As life expectancy in Ghana improves, a large and growing population of older adults require healthcare. Despite governmental support for the care of older adults, there have been no geriatricians and no in‐country educational path for those desiring to become specialists in this field. In fact, 23 of 54 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) lack even a single geriatrician. We describe a novel and collaborative approach used to develop the first geriatric training fellowship in Ghana. Faculty from the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and the University of Michigan worked together to develop a rigorous and evidence‐based geriatrics curriculum, based on US standards but adapted to be appropriate for the cultural, economic, educational, and social norms in Ghana. This approach led to a strong training model for care of older adults while also strengthening the ongoing collaboration between the two partner universities in Ghana and the United States. The fellowship has been inaugurated in Ghana and can serve as a concrete educational model for other countries in SSA. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1718–1723, 2019