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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04450823

From Short-term Surgical Missions Towards Sustainable Partnerships

Introduction: Recently, the devastating consequences of neglected surgical care in global health became apparent with an estimated five billion people lacking access to safe surgical and anesthesia care. Traditionally, short-term surgical missions were the predominant strategy how surgical care was supported in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Although surgical missions have been criticized in recent literature they are still being performed on a large scale. The aim of this study is to provide recommendations for persons and organizations involved in surgical mission on how to strengthen surgical care in LMICs in the future.

Method: An online survey was developed for members of foreign teams. Data was collected on 5 topics, consisting of: 1) basic characteristics of the missions, 2) main activities, 2) follow-up and reporting, 3) the local registration process for foreign teams and 4) collaboration with local stakeholders.

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Key information

Conditions

Global Surgery Medical Missions

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Global surgery amsterdam

Amsterdam, North Holland, 1105BD, Netherlands

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Members of foreign teams, that did participate in at least one short-term surgical mission in a hospital in a LMIC

Exclusion criteria

-

Treatment and study plan

No intervention

Other

no intervention study, survey amongst health workers

Primary outcomes

  1. Q7: Country Where the Last Mission Took Place

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    Answer on the question: What was the country where your last mission took place?

  2. Q8: Name of the Place and Hospital Where the Last Mission Took Place

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    List with names of the places and hospitals where the last mission took place

  3. Q9: Number of Participants Per Organization

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    Name of the organization that supported the last mission of the participant

  4. Q10: Countries Where the NGOs Are Based

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    List of countries where the supporting NGOs of the last mission are based

  5. Q11: Importance of Potential Activities

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    Points provided (1-4) for four potential activities of a visiting team (more points = more important activity) The points provided by all participants are summed per specific activity and the total scores are compared

    The four potential activities are:

    • Treat patients yourself
    • Provide surgical equipment and consumables for the local team
    • Provide free treatment
    • Facilitate teaching of local staff

    Scale with importance of potential activities. Maximum score: 4x58 = 232

  6. Q12: Activities That Where Missing in Question 11.

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    Respondents that were missing this activity as an option in question 11

    Total number of respondents that were missing an activity: 29

    Activities that were missing:

    • Financial collaboration
    • Advocacy
    • Academic collaboration
    • Sustainability
    • Collaboration with local staff
    • Follow-up

  7. Q13. Medical Registration is Required in the Host Country

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    Medical registration in the host country is required for specialists performing short-term reconstructive missions

    Participants of the survey were asked what they think of this statement:

    • Strongly agree
    • Agree
    • Neither agree nor disagree
    • Disagree
    • Strongly disagree

  8. Q14: The Process of Obtaining Medical Registration Was Straightforward

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    The Process of Obtaining Medical Registration Was Straightforward

    Participants of the survey were asked what they think of this statement:

    • Strongly agree
    • Agree
    • Neither agree nor disagree
    • Disagree
    • Strongly disagree

  9. Q15: Collaboration

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    What can you say about the collaboration between authorities in LMICs and visiting surgical teams?

    Participants of the survey were asked to choose one of the following answers on this question:

    • collaboration is present but improvement is needed
    • there is no collaboration and it should be developed as a priority
    • collaboration has no benefits nor disadvantages
    • collaboration will likely be more harmful than beneficial for the mission

  10. Q16. What Should Have a Higher Priority in the Hospital of Your Last Mission?

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    What should have a higher priority in the hospital of your last mission ?

    Respondents were asked to choose on the these two answers:

    Teaching in anesthesia care or teaching in surgical care

  11. Q17. A Structured Follow-up Strategy is Required

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    A structured follow-up strategy (>6 months) of patients is required for short-term reconstructive surgical missions.

    Participants of the survey were asked what they think of this statement:

    • Strongly agree
    • Agree
    • Neither agree nor disagree
    • Disagree
    • Strongly disagree

  12. Q18. One Month After the Mission, an Official Report is Recommended

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    One month after the mission, an official report on the outcome including all complications encountered is recommended for all missions.

    Participants of the survey were asked what they think of this statement:

    • Strongly agree
    • Agree
    • Neither agree nor disagree
    • Disagree
    • Strongly disagree

  13. Q19. A Written Long-term Strategy is Recommended at the Start of a New Project.

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    A written long-term strategy (>5 years) with clear goals, developed by the visiting team and the local actors together, is recommended at the start of a new project.

    Participants of the survey were asked what they think of this statement:

    • Strongly agree
    • Agree
    • Neither agree nor disagree
    • Disagree
    • Strongly disagree

  14. Q20. Suggestions to Improve the Impact of Short Term Reconstructive Missions.

    Time frame: approximately 20 minutes

    What would you suggest to improve the impact of short term reconstructive missions?

    The answers were categorized and the three most mentioned categories are:

    • Teaching of local staff
    • Follow-up
    • Building sustainable partnerships

    The three activities were mentioned in total 68 times in the comments The distribution among the three categories is shown below

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Global Surgery Amsterdam

Other

Registry information

Official study title

From Short-term Surgical Missions Towards Sustainable Partnerships. A Survey Among Members of Foreign Teams

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2019
Study completion
2019
First posted
Jun 30, 2020
Registry last updated
Dec 19, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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