Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34587196›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Policy options for surgical mentoring: Lessons from Zambia based on stakeholder consultation and systems science.

Henk Broekhuizen, Martilord Ifeanyichi, Mweene Cheelo, Grace Drury, Chiara Pittalis, Etiënne Rouwette, Michael Mbambiko, John Kachimba, Ruairí Brugha, Jakub Gajewski and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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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

11 authors.

Henk BroekhuizenDept. Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2816-3552
Martilord IfeanyichiDept. Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Mweene CheeloDepartment of Surgery, Surgical Society of Zambia, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.
Grace DruryNuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Chiara PittalisInstitute of Global Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
Etiënne RouwetteInstitute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Michael MbambikoDepartment of Surgery, Surgical Society of Zambia, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.
John KachimbaDepartment of Surgery, Surgical Society of Zambia, University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.
Ruairí BrughaDepartment of Epidemiology & Public Health, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Division of Population Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland.
Jakub GajewskiInstitute of Global Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
Leon BijlmakersDept. Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-2252-0579

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSupervision by surgical specialists is beneficial because they can impart skills to district hospital-level surgical teams. The SURG-Africa project in Zambia comprises a mentoring trial in selected districts, involving two provincial-level mentoring teams. The aim of this paper is to explore policy options for embedding such surgical mentoring in existing policy structures through a participatory modeling approach.

methodsFour group model building workshops were held, two each in district and central hospitals. Participants worked in a variety of institutions and had clinical and/or administrative backgrounds. Two independent reviewers compared the causal loop diagrams (CLDs) that resulted from these workshops in a pairwise fashion to construct an integrated CLD. Graph theory was used to analyze the integrated CLD, and dynamic system behavior was explored using the Method to Analyse Relations between Variables using Enriched Loops (MARVEL) method.

resultsThe establishment of a provincial mentoring faculty, in collaboration with key stakeholders, would be a necessary step to coordinate and sustain surgical mentoring and to monitor district-level surgical performance. Quarterly surgical mentoring reviews at the provincial level are recommended to evaluate and, if needed, adapt mentoring. District hospital administrators need to closely monitor mentee motivation.

conclusionsSurgical mentoring can play a key role in scaling up district-level surgery but its implementation is complex and requires designated provincial level coordination and regular contact with relevant stakeholders.

Indexed as

PolicyAdministrative PersonnelHospitals, DistrictHumansMentoringReferral and ConsultationSurgical Procedures, OperativeZambia

Identifiers

PMID34587196
PMCPMC8480833

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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.