Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27283189›Full record

ArticleWorld journal of surgery2016

The Specialist Surgeon Workforce in East, Central and Southern Africa: A Situation Analysis.

Eric O'Flynn, Judith Andrew, Avril Hutch, Caitrin Kelly, Pankaj Jani, Ignatius Kakande, Miliard Derbew, Sean Tierney, Nyengo Mkandawire, Krikor Erzingatsian

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Article in World journal of surgery, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed
4.5field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Untreated surgical conditions in Malawi: A randomised cross-sectional nationwide household survey.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2017
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  16. Results of a Pilot Virtual Microsurgery Course for Plastic Surgeons in LMICs.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2024
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Urologist Workforce and Services in Ethiopia.World journal of surgery · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 6 institutions in 9 countries.

Eric O'FlynnRoyal College of Surgeons in Ireland/College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa Collaboration Programme, Department of Surgical Affairs, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 121 St Stephen's Green, Dublin, 2, Ireland. ericoflynn@rcsi.ie.
Judith AndrewCollege of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, Njiro Road, Arusha, Tanzania.
Avril HutchRoyal College of Surgeons in Ireland/College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa Collaboration Programme, Department of Surgical Affairs, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 121 St Stephen's Green, Dublin, 2, Ireland.
Caitrin KellyDivision of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Yawkey Bldg #9, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Pankaj JaniCollege of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, Njiro Road, Arusha, Tanzania.
Ignatius KakandeCollege of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, Njiro Road, Arusha, Tanzania.
Miliard DerbewCollege of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, Njiro Road, Arusha, Tanzania.
Sean TierneyDepartment of Surgical Affairs, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 121 St Stephen's Green, Dublin, 2, Ireland.
Nyengo MkandawireCollege of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, Njiro Road, Arusha, Tanzania.
Krikor ErzingatsianCollege of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, Njiro Road, Arusha, Tanzania.
East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community · TZRoyal College of Surgeons in Ireland · IEFlinders University · AUMassachusetts General Hospital · USNsambya Hospital · UGUniversity of Nairobi · KE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn East, Central and Southern Africa accurate data on the current surgeon workforce have previously been limited. In order to ensure that the workforce required for sustainable delivery of surgical care is put in place, accurate data on the number, specialty and distribution of specialist-trained surgeons are crucial for all stakeholders in surgery and surgical training in the region.

methodsThe surgical workforce in each of the ten member countries of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) was determined by gathering and crosschecking data from multiple sources including COSECSA records, medical council registers, local surgical societies records, event attendance lists and interviews of Members and Fellows of COSECSA, and validating this by direct contact with the surgeons identified. This data was recorded and analysed in a cloud-based computerised database, developed as part of a collaboration programme with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

resultsA total of 1690 practising surgeons have been identified yielding a regional ratio of 0.53 surgeons per 100,000 population. A majority of surgeons (64 %) practise in the main commercial city of their country of residence and just 9 % of surgeons are female. More than half (53 %) of surgeons in the region are general surgeons.

conclusionsWhile there is considerable geographic variation between countries, the regional surgical workforce represents less than 4 % of the equivalent number in developed countries indicating the magnitude of the human resource challenge to be addressed.

Indexed as

Specialties, SurgicalAfrica, CentralAfrica, EasternAfrica, SouthernDeveloping CountriesFemaleHumansMaleSurgeonsWorkforce

Identifiers

PMID27283189
OpenAlexW2411676781

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.