Surgery

  • Open Access
    Development of a Modular and Equitable Surgical Simulator
    Yihan Lin, Jason J. Han, John J. Kelly, Anna K. Gergen and Emily Downs
    Global Health: Science and Practice June 2022, 10(3):e2100744; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00744

    Current trends in surgical simulation favor high-fidelity, costly models that are often limited to high-income academic centers. The GlobalSurgBox overcomes many of the barriers to routine implementation and use of surgical simulators in low-income countries by circumventing the often prohibitive financial, time, and personnel investments required of current simulation prototypes.

  • Open Access
    A Narrative Review of Kenya’s Surgical Capacity Using the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery’s Indicator Framework
    Hugh Shirley and Richard Wamai
    Global Health: Science and Practice February 2022, 10(1):e2100500; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00500

    Limited progress has been made on the expansion of access to surgical care in Kenya as assessed with the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery’s indicator framework, underscoring the need for a national surgery, obstetrics, and anesthesia plan.

  • Open Access
    The Development and Inclusion of Questions on Surgery in the 2018 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey
    Sabrina Juran, Sanna Moren, Vatshalan Santhirapala, Lina Roa, Emmanuel Makasa, Justine Davies, Jose Miguel Guzman, Lars Hagander, Hampus Holmer, Mark G. Shrime, Thomas G. Weiser, John G. Meara, Stefanie J. Klug and David Ljungman
    Global Health: Science and Practice December 2021, 9(4):905-914; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00619

    Data from household surveys serve as the backbone to sustainable development planning. For the first time, questions on surgery have been included in a nationwide Demographic and Health Survey, showing that it is feasible to integrate these questions into a large-scale survey.

  • Open Access
    Strategies for Improving Quality and Safety in Global Health: Lessons From Nontechnical Skills for Surgery Implementation in Rwanda
    Daniel Josef Lindegger, Egide Abahuje, Kenneth Ruzindana, Elizabeth Mwachiro, Gilbert Rutayisire Karonkano, Wendy Williams, George Ntakiyiruta, Robert Riviello, Steven Yule and Simon Paterson-Brown
    Global Health: Science and Practice September 2021, 9(3):481-486; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00042

    The Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) framework is a taxonomy of cognitive and social skills that foster expertise and medical knowledge in the operating room. This framework can be used as a method to improve the quality of surgical care in global efforts to improve access to affordable surgery.

  • Open Access
    Implementation of GeneXpert for TB Testing in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review
    Scott Brown, Justine E. Leavy and Jonine Jancey
    Global Health: Science and Practice September 2021, 9(3):698-710; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00121

    This review highlights a commonality of implementation barriers across geographically dispersed GeneXpert interventions for TB testing. This indicates the importance of using implementation frameworks to report findings that can improve public health outcomes across low- and middle-income countries.

  • Open Access
    Top 10 Resources in Global Surgery
    Alliance Niyikuri, Emily R. Smith, Dominique Vervoort, Mark G. Shrime, Stav Brown, Alexander W. Peters, Gavin Yamey and Emmanuel Makasa
    Global Health: Science and Practice September 2020, 8(3):606-611; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00050

    This resource list could serve to orient those interested in global surgery and could be supplemented with resources advocating for global surgery from clinical, population health, or policy perspectives.

  • Open Access
    Breaking Specialty Silos: Improving Global Child Health Through Essential Surgical Care
    Isaac Wasserman, Alexander W. Peters, Lina Roa, Farhana Amanullah and Lubna Samad
    Global Health: Science and Practice June 2020, 8(2):183-189; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00009

    Children’s health care providers and children’s surgery providers can partner to improve children’s health by developing the surgical workforce, focusing on “best buy” surgeries, integrating children’s surgery into national plans, streamlining data collection and research, and leveraging financing.

  • Open Access
    National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anesthesia Plans Supporting the Vision of Universal Health Coverage
    Alexander W. Peters, Lina Roa, Emile Rwamasirabo, Emmanuel Ameh, Mpoki M. Ulisubisya, Lubna Samad, Emmanuel M. Makasa and John G. Meara
    Global Health: Science and Practice March 2020, 8(1):1-9; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-19-00314

    Developing a national surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia plan is an important first step for countries to strengthen their surgical systems and improve surgical care. Barriers to successful implementation of these plans include data collection, scalability, and financing, yet surgical system strengthening efforts are gaining momentum in achieving universal access to emergency and essential surgical care.

  • Open Access
    A Resource Planning Analysis of District Hospital Surgical Services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Melanie Sion, Dheepa Rajan, Hyppolite Kalambay, Jean-Pierre Lokonga, Joseph Bulakali, Mathias Mossoko, Dieudonne Kwete, Gerard Schmets, Edward Kelley, Tarcisse Elongo, Luis Sambo and Meena Cherian
    Global Health: Science and Practice March 2015, 3(1):56-70; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00165

    District hospitals in the DRC, on average, could not provide 21% of lifesaving surgical interventions due to deficiencies in basic infrastructure and essential surgical equipment and supplies. Surgery's important health impact and proportionally low service delivery budget argue for greater emphasis on surgical interventions, including for obstetric care.