ArticleBMJ open quality2023
Evaluating the uptake and effect of Surgical Safety Checklist implementation in a rural hospital, Neno District, Malawi.
Article in BMJ open quality, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 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.
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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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Exploratory Survey.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe WHO introduced the Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) in 2008, which has been proven to enhance collaboration and patient safety before, during and after surgical procedures. However, the impact of using SSC has not been assessed in a rural setting in Malawi. We aimed to evaluate the uptake of SSC in Neno District, Malawi.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional hospital-based retrospective chart review of 468 surgical cases from July 2021 to March 2022 in two hospitals in Neno District. We collected data using Excel and used R software for analysis. We used descriptive statistics to characterise the surgeries. We used χ
resultsOf 468 surgical cases, 92% (n=431) were done as emergency procedures. The median age was 23 years (IQR: 19-29) and 94% (n=439) were female. Overall, 38% of surgeries (n=176) used the SSC and of these, 98% were in emergency procedures. We found an association between the use of SSC and the age of the client (p=0.018), type of procedure, name of the procedure, healthcare worker cadre, time procedure performed and complications (p<0.001). However, no association was observed between SSC use and outcome (p>0.05). The odds of using SSC were higher in emergency surgeries, surgeries performed at night; however, they were lower among temporary employees and anaesthetists with a diploma (p<0.001). The odds of experiencing complications were 1.71 times greater when using SSC compared with surgeries without SSC (p=0.029).
conclusionsThe use of an SSC in a rural area was promising, despite its fluctuating use and this needs programme improvement. Further studies are highly recommended to understand the fluctuation in the use of the SSC.
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Registered trials
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