Observational studyBMC ophthalmology2017
Impact of systematic capacity building on cataract surgical service development in 25 hospitals.
Observational study in BMC ophthalmology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Using operational research as a tool to improve eye health services and systems in low-and middle-income settings: lessons from India and Nepal.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Alternative community-led intervention to improve uptake of cataract surgery services in rural Tanzania-The Dodoma Community Cataract Acceptance Trial (DoCCAT): a protocol for intervention co-designing and implementation in a cluster-randomized controlled trial.Biology methods & protocols · 2024Article
- Implementing surgical mentorship in a resource-constrained context: a mixed methods assessment of the experiences of mentees, mentors, and leaders, and lessons learned.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- A multimodal mentorship intervention to improve surgical quality in Tanzania's Lake Zone: a convergent, mixed methods assessment.Human resources for health · 2021Article
- Presbyopic glide: A simple aid to prevent grave errors in high surgical volume centers.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2021Article
- [Sumbawanga eye camp follow-up study 2019].Der Ophthalmologe : Zeitschrift der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft · 2020Article
- How Effective are Mentoring Programs for Improving Health Worker Competence and Institutional Performance in Africa? A Systematic Review of Quantitative Evidence.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2019Review
- Evidence for national universal eye health plans.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study measured the effectiveness and cost of a capacity building intervention in 25 eye hospitals in South Asia, East Africa and Latin America over 4 years. The intervention involved eye care non-governmental organizations or high-performing eye hospitals acting as "mentors" to underperforming eye hospitals- "mentees" in 10 countries. Intervention activities included systematic planning and support for training and key equipment purchases as well as hospital-specific mentoring which focused on strengthening leadership, increasing the volume and equity of community outreach, improving surgical quality and volume, strengthening organizational and financial management and streamlining operational processes.
methodsThis is a before and after observational study of the impact of this multi-dimensional process on hospital and individual productivity and financial sustainability after 4 years. Mentee hospitals reported data monthly using a standardized template. Key indicators included cataract surgery volume, cataract operations per surgeon, the proportion of direct paying cataract surgical patients, intervention program costs per additional surgery and cost per mentor.
resultsBy the end of the study period, the hospitals experienced a 69% average increase (range: -63% to 690%) in cataract surgical volume over baseline with 12 hospitals showing increases over 100%. Twenty-three hospitals experienced a 59% average increase in the number of cataract surgeries per surgeon with 10 hospitals showing increases over 100%. The proportion of paying patients increased in 8 of the 14 hospitals reporting this data. The average mentoring cost per additional surgery for these 25 hospitals was $5.39. An average of $36,489.99 was spent per mentor per year to support their work with mentees.
conclusionsThe intervention resulted in proportionally similar increases in cataract surgical volume and productivity across diverse settings in three distinct geographic regions. Its wide applicability and moderate cost make it an attractive means to rapidly and substantially increase eye care services to meet VISION2020 goals.
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Registered trials
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.