ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT IN OBSTETRICS (ALSO) MEXICO

• Introduction and Objective The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course is a two-day course which teaches emergency management skills to maternity care providers. ALSO Mexico started in 2006 by a multi-disciplinary team. The founding organization is PACEMD, a community based training program, which houses competency-based certification by the courses American Academy of Family Physicians (ALSO), American Heart Association, National Association of Emergency Medicine Technicians, and others. ALSO Mexico has found a successful strategy for disseminating related Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO) and piloted Community-Based Life Support in Obstetrics (CLSO) courses. • Methods With its base in Guanajuato Mexico, ALSO Mexico used a teach the teacher model to quickly train a core team for dissemination of the course throughout the country. Partnering with the Ministry of Health aided the funding and organization. ALSO Mexico has tracked the number of courses taught and providers trained over the last decade. • Results and Conclusions ALSO Mexico has trained over 10,000 providers throughout Mexico. It has had a big impact in some of the states with the worst maternity care outcomes, including Chiapas, Oaxaca and Mexico State. ALSO Mexico has become a leader in dissemination of the course not just in Mexico, but throughout Latin America. Mexico with its dramatically varied environments, and decentralization needs, has served as a valuable “proving ground” for implementation of ALSO programs in Mexico and Latin America.