Perioperative Care in Ethiopia

Incorporating elements from recognized surgical and anesthesia facility assessment tools the survey assesses surgery and anaesthesia at Ethiopian public hospital facilities.

The surveys assesses infrastructure, workforce, and availability of resources across all National facilities providing surgery.

An online national cross-sectional survey, designed through a consultative process involving senior clinicians - anesthesia providers, surgeons, and obstetricians.

Elements incorporated from existing tools, including the Safe Surgery Hospital Assessment Tool, World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) Anaesthesia Facility Assessment Tool and the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery Surgical Assessment Tool.

Survey questions grouped into themes: infrastructure, human resources, service delivery, and the availability of medications, equipment, and guidelines.

The final quantitative survey includes 77 questions, for distribution to clinicians at a convenience sample of government hospitals providing major surgical services. Private facilities are excluded.

The online survey link sent via the N4PCc collaborator network to clinicians at each site. All collaborators and clinicians are perioperative practitioners (anesthesia providers, surgeons, obstetricians, nurses) at their respective institutions. Additional facilities with no N4PCc collaborator contacted via the department of anesthesia at each institution. Telephone follow-up with non-responding hospitals to overcome barriers to completion, including assistance with data input where required.

Inclusion criteria

Clinicians working at facilities providing perioperative care Clinicians working in surgery, anaesthesia or obstetrics These will be recruited to provide data on perioperative capacity at all facilities providing surgery nationally

Exclusion criteria

Clinicians working out-with perioperative care Facilities not providing surgical services