Workability of the South African Triage Scale for Routine Prehospital Triage by Paramedics in Kenya: A Secondary Analysis of Existing Evidence
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23833396
Journal of Contemporary Social Sciences and Education
Published : 2026-10-31
Analytics
Page Views: 17
Article Tools
PDF
Author: Linda Ouma, Gerald Githinji, and Doris Tutoek
ABSTRACT
Triage falls within the scope of practice of Kenyan prehospital emergency care providers, yet the evidence reviewed for this analysis did not identify a standardized triage tool validated for routine use in that setting. The South African Triage Scale (SATS) has been implemented in Kenyan emergency departments and studied among prehospital providers in South Africa. However, whether existing evidence supports SATS as a workable routine triage approach for Kenyan paramedics, distinct from formal validation, remains unclear. This secondary analysis draws on published evidence retrieved from PubMed, African Journals Online (AJOL), Google Scholar, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa resources, and Kenya-specific institutional repositories for the period 2008 -2026. No new primary data were collected. Kenyan evidence on SATS was identified from the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) emergency department, where the tool showed 92.2% sensitivity for predicting patient disposition. South African prehospital evidence indicates that Emergency Medical Service providers can use SATS to structure assessment and handover communication, but the correct final SATS colour was assigned in 56.5% of vignette responses; Triage early warning Score (TEWS) was calculated correctly in 42.6% pointing to specific field-related sources of error rather than a wholesale failure of the tool. The prehospital system remains fragmented, with no national triage or destination-routing protocols. Existing evidence suggests that SATS may offer a structured approach to routine prehospital triage and communication. However, difficulties in TEWS calculation, discriminator interpretation, and changing patient conditions mean that its workability cannot be assumed in Kenya. Evaluation should first establish whether SATS can be applied consistently and practically during routine Kenyan paramedic assessment before proceeding to formal validation or implementation.
Citation
Ouma, L., Githinji, G., & Tutoek, D. (2026). Workability of the South African Triage Scale for Routine Prehospital Triage by Paramedics in Kenya: A Secondary Analysis of Existing Evidence. Journal of Contemporary Social Sciences and Education, 4(1), 17 - 30. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23833396
