Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41720581›Full record

ArticleBMJ global health2026

Defining the bellwether procedures and processes for global trauma care: an international Delphi study.

Michael F Bath, Joachim Amoako, Thomas Edmiston, Amila Sanjiva Ratnayake, Daphne Kabatoro, Dinesh Bagaria, Raj Menon, Jared M Wohlgemut, Laura Hobbs, Brandon G Smith and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ global health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Patterns of negative trauma laparotomy worldwide: a sub-analysis of a global dataset.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026
    Observational
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

19 authors.

Michael F BathInternational Health Systems Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK mb2583@cam.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1879-1093
Joachim AmoakoUniversity of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana.
Thomas EdmistonInternational Health Systems Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-9071-0568
Amila Sanjiva RatnayakeDepartment of Surgery, Army Hospital, Colombo, Sri Lanka.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2678-2667
Daphne KabatoroInternational Health Systems Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Dinesh BagariaDepartment of Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India.
Raj MenonDepartment of Surgery, National University Hospital, Singapore.
Jared M WohlgemutDepartment of General Surgery, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, UK.
Laura HobbsInternational Health Systems Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Brandon G SmithInternational Health Systems Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Carlos M Nuño-GuzmánHospital Civil de Guadalajara Fray Antonio Alcalde, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Sebastian E VélezHospital de Urgencias de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
Rick BrennanGlobal Health Consultant, -, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Andrew Conway MorrisJVF Intensive Care Unit, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.
Timothy Craig HardcastleDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal College of Health Sciences, Durban, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3967-0234
Thomas WeiserDepartment of Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3118-3888
Tom BashfordInternational Health Systems Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0228-9779
Global Trauma Care Delphi Collaborative
Global Trauma Care Delphi

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe complexity of delivering trauma care makes the assessment of its provision challenging. The identification of bellwether procedures has previously been successful in the evaluation of global surgical care; however, any equivalent in assessing trauma care is currently lacking. Through a Delphi process, we aimed to produce the bellwether procedures and processes for global trauma care.

methodsA global Delphi process was undertaken with healthcare professionals and academics involved in trauma care from across the world. A list of potential procedures and processes was identified through literature review and expert opinion, along with subsequent additional options suggested by respondents. Three successive rounds were completed, with respondents rating the importance of each procedure or process to be undertaken at any hospital that cares for trauma patients using a five-point Likert scale.

resultsA total of 411 respondents from 78 countries completed the initial round of the Delphi process, with minimal attrition observed across rounds. Following three successive rounds of the Delphi and functional aggregation, nine bellwethers of global trauma care were determined, subdivided into three functional categories: 'Resuscitation & Stabilisation'-(1) Advanced Airway Management, (2) Short-term C-spine Immobilisation, (3) Long Bone Immobilisation; 'Diagnosis & Monitoring'-(4) Blood Gas Analysis, (5) Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) Scanning, (6) Continuous Access to CT Imaging; 'Optimisation & Intervention'-(7) Blood Transfusion, (8) Tube Thoracostomy, (9) Laparotomy and Splenectomy.

conclusionThe Global Trauma Care Delphi study has produced nine metrics that provide pragmatic indicators for the overall assessment of trauma care capabilities at any healthcare setting worldwide. These bellwethers of global trauma care can enable hospitals, local managers and health ministries to identify institutions or regions that may require more in-depth assessment, allowing standards in the management of traumatic injuries to improve.

Indexed as

Delivery of Health CareGlobal HealthWounds and InjuriesDelphi TechniqueHumansDelivery of Health CareHealth policyHealth systems evaluationTraumatology

Identifiers

PMID41720581
PMCPMC12927294

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.