ArticleBMJ open2023
Battling against the great disruption to surgical care in a pandemic: experiences of 11 South and Southeast Asian countries.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Comparative efficiency of Asian surgical systems in COVID-19 response: a multi-level longitudinal benchmarking study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Improving Patient Safety Culture Perceptions in Resource-Limited Operating Rooms: A Nurse-Led Multifaceted Implementation of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
- Achieving Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anesthesia (SOTA) care for all in South Asia.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe majority of the cancelled elective surgeries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic globally were estimated to occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where surgical services had long been in short supply even before the pandemic. Therefore, minimising disruption to existing surgical care in LMICs is of crucial importance during a pandemic. This study aimed to explore contributory factors to the continuity of surgical care in LMICs in the face of a pandemic.
designSemistructured interviews were conducted over zoom with surgical leaders of 25 tertiary hospitals from 11 LMICs in South and Southeast Asia in September to October 2020. Key themes were subsequently identified from the interview transcripts using the Braun and Clarke's method of thematic analysis.
resultsThe COVID-19 pandemic affected all surgical services of participating institutions to varying degrees. Overall, elective surgeries suffered the gravest disruption, followed by outpatient surgical care, and finally emergency surgeries. Keeping healthcare workers safe and striving for continuity of essential surgical care emerged as notable response strategies observed across all participating institutions.
conclusionThis study suggested that four factors are important for the resilience of surgical care against COVID-19: adequate COVID-19 testing capacity and effective institutional infection control measures, designated COVID-19 treatment facilities, whole-system approach to balancing pandemic response and meeting essential surgical needs, and active community engagement. These findings can inform healthcare institutions in other countries, especially LMICs, in their effort to tread a fine line between preserving healthcare capacity for pandemic response and protecting surgical services against pandemic disruption.
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