ArticleBMJ open2022
Challenges and solutions to providing surgery in Sierra Leone hospitals: a qualitative analysis of surgical provider perspectives.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Epidemiology of surgical site infections post-cesarean section in Africa: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Non-operative versus operative management of uncomplicated acute appendicitis: a randomized controlled study in Sierra Leone.BMC surgery · 2026Trial
- Challenges and enablers in accessing paediatric inguinal hernia surgical care in Sierra Leone: a qualitative exploratory study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Development of paediatric surgical care in Sierra Leone: a repeated nationwide cross-sectional study from 2012 to 2023.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Evaluating Access Improving Interventions: An Economic Evaluation of Surgical Task-Shifting for C-Sections in Sierra Leone.Applied health economics and health policy · 2025Article
- Barriers to accessing appendectomy in the public sector health system in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2024Article
- Prevalence and outcomes of pediatric surgical conditions at Connaught Hospital in Freetown: a retrospective study.World journal of pediatric surgery · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to use qualitative interviews with surgical providers to explore challenges and solutions to providing surgical and anaesthesia care in Sierra Leone's hospitals.
designData were collected through anonymous, semistructured interviews. We used a qualitative framework approach to analyse interview data and determine themes relating to challenges that were reported.
settingA purposive sample of 12 hospitals was selected throughout Sierra Leone to include district and referral hospitals of varying ownership (private, non-governmental organisation and government).
participantsThe most senior surgical provider available during each hospital site visit participated in a semistructured interview. A total of 12 interviews were conducted.
resultsProviders described both challenges and solutions relating to the following categories: equipment and supplies, access to services, human resources, infrastructure, management and patient factors. These challenges were found to affect surgical care in hospitals by delaying surgical care, decreasing operative capacity and decreasing quality of care. Providers identified not only the root causes of these challenges, but also the varied workarounds and solutions they employ to overcome them.
conclusionSurgical providers can offer important insights into challenges affecting surgical services in hospitals. Despite working in challenging environments with limited resources, providers have developed innovative solutions to improve surgical and anaesthesia care in hospitals in Sierra Leone. Qualitative research has an important role to play in improving understanding of the challenges facing surgeons in low-income countries.
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