SynthesisBMJ global health2022
Systematic review of low-income and middle-income country perceptions of visiting surgical teams from high-income countries.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Epidemiology of appendicitis in Ecuador, 2004-2024: a national time-series analysis of incidence, trends, geographic variation, and case-fatality rates.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Strategies for High-Quality Spine Surgery in Resource-Limited Settings: The Five-P Framework for Equitable Surgical Delivery.Global spine journal · 2026Review
- Two decades of trust: reflections on a partnership transforming paediatric kidney care in Guatemala.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Article
- Beyond Good Intentions: A Justice-Based Critique of Short-Term Medical Missions.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Surgical Training Profiling in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil.Cureus · 2025Article
- Augmented Reality (AR) in Surgery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): A Scoping Review.Cureus · 2024Article
- Implementation of an electronic health record system during global surgical outreach: A prospective evaluation of success and sustainability.World journal of surgery · 2024Article
- Developing and transferring a children's surgical training program from India to Africa a south-to-south global initiative.Pediatric surgery international · 2024Article
- Bidirectional needs assessment of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery short-term surgical trips in Zimbabwe.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2024Article
- The utility of low-cost negative pressure wound therapy in Cameroon.The Pan African medical journal · 2024Article
- Breaking Barriers in Cranioplasty: 3D Printing in Low and Middle-Income Settings-Insights from Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Observational
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe shortage of surgeons, anaesthesiologists and obstetricians in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is occasionally bridged by foreign surgical teams from high-income countries on short-term visits. To advise on ethical guidelines for such activities, the aim of this study was to present LMIC stakeholders' perceptions of visiting surgical teams from high-income countries.
methodWe performed a systematic review according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines in November 2021, using standardised search terms in PubMed/Medline (National Library of Medicine), EMBASE (Elsevier), Global Health Database (EBSCO) and Global Index Medicus, and complementary hand searches in African Journals Online and Google Scholar. Included studies were analysed thematically using a meta-ethnographic approach.
resultsOut of 3867 identified studies, 30 articles from 15 countries were included for analysis. Advantages of visiting surgical teams included alleviating clinical care needs, skills improvement, system-level strengthening, academic and career benefits and broader collaboration opportunities. Disadvantages of visiting surgical teams involved poor quality of care and lack of follow-up, insufficient knowledge transfers, dilemmas of ethics and equity, competition, administrative and financial issues and language barriers.
conclusionSurgical short-term visits from high-income countries are insufficiently described from the perspective of stakeholders in LMICs, yet such perspectives are essential for quality of care, ethics and equity, skills and knowledge transfer and sustainable health system strengthening. More in-depth studies, particularly of LMIC perceptions, are required to inform further development of ethical guidelines for global surgery and support ethical and sustainable strengthening of LMIC surgical systems.
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