Oxygen Availability and Nursing Capacity for Oxygen Therapy in Ugandan Paediatric Wards

Oxygen is essential, life-saving, supportive treatment for children with hypoxaemia but is not available in many resource-constrained health facilities. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of oxygen availability and nurses’ skills for oxygen administration at the paediatric wards of 11 district hospitals in eastern Uganda. Functional oxygen delivery was available at the paediatric wards of only 2 of 11 (18%) hospitals. Of the six concentrators found, two did not function at all and two produced a stream of O2 <80% pure. Most nurses (76%) had adequate knowledge on how to use a concentrator, but the majority did not know how to use a pulse oximeter or administer cylinder oxygen. All nurses felt the need for further training on O2 administration and equipment. Given the large number of childhood pneumonia deaths occurring in resource-limited settings, improving availability of oxygen and nursing skills to administer oxygen could lead to substantial gains in global child survival.