Strength in the System: Caregiver Wellbeing in African PICUs

About this episode

This episode discusses caregiver wellbeing in African PICUs, highlighting challenges and support systems for healthcare professionals.

In this episode of the World PICU Awareness Week 2026 podcast series, we explore caregiver wellbeing through the perspective of PICU teams across Africa. Moderated by Dr. Charlyne Kilba, this discussion brings together multidisciplinary voices from across the continent, highlighting both the shared challenges and the strength of teams working in resource-limited, high-demand environments. The conversation provides an honest reflection on the realities of pediatric critical care in Africa – including staff shortages, high patient volumes, ethical dilemmas, and limited access to essential resources – and how these factors impact the wellbeing of healthcare professionals. At the same time, the episode showcases powerful and practical approaches to support caregivers, including team-based support systems, debriefing practices, spirituality, and community-driven initiatives. A strong emphasis is placed on resilience – not only at the individual level, but as a collective and system-supported effort. HOST Marie-Charlyne Kilba Paediatric Intensivist, Head of Department Child Health, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ghana GUEST Ireen Primrose Machira Nursing Officer PICU in the Mercy…

People in this episode

Host: Marie-Charlyne Kilba

Guests: Ireen Primrose Machira, Rohini Kalagouda Patil, Susan Zakariah, Brenda Morrow

Topics covered

• caregiver wellbeing
• pediatric critical care
• resource-limited environments
• team support systems
• healthcare professional resilience
• ethical dilemmas
• staff shortages

Keywords

• PICU
• caregiver support
• healthcare challenges
• Africa
• pediatric care
• resilience
• teamwork

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Mercy James Centre, Nairobi Hospital, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, University of Cape Town

Places: Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa

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