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Background Surgical outreach trips to low- and middle-income countries have been increasing. Outcome collection on these trips, however, has been inconsistent and often incomplete. We conducted a qualitative study of surgeons, administrators, and patients to identify the barriers and facilitators to outcome collection on hand surgery outreach trips to Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods A purposive sample of surgeons, administrators, and patients from Hospital 175 were interviewed about their beliefs regarding outcome collection. We used a semi-structured interview guide based on the Theoretical Domains Framework to systematically explore barriers and facilitators. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using content analysis. Beliefs underlying similar responses were identified and aggregated to describe barriers and facilitators of outcome measurement. Results Twelve surgeons and administrative staff (3 visiting and 9 local) and 5 patients were interviewed before saturation was achieved. All stakeholders believed outcome collection on hand surgery outreach trips is important. Barriers identified were primarily related to environmental context and resources (eg, cost of returning) and memory, attention, and decision process (eg, difficulty in remembering patient follow-up intervals). The most commonly identified barriers address the distance patients live from the hospital/clinic, the resources required for them to return, and the lack of an organized system to assist in follow-up. Conclusions Multiple barriers to outcome collection exist at Hospital 175 in Vietnam. Understanding these barriers informs context-specific implementation approaches to collect outcomes on hand surgery outreach trips, which may improve the safety and quality of care provided.

Introduction While short-term surgical outreach trips improve access to care in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), there is rising concern about their long-term impact. In response, many organizations seek to incorporate capacity building programs into their outreach efforts to help strengthen local health systems. Although leading organizations, like the World Health Organization (WHO), advocate for this approach, uniform guidelines are absent. Methods We performed a systematic review, using search terms pertaining to capacity building guidelines during short-term surgical outreach trips. We extracted information on authorship, guideline development methodology, and guidelines relating to capacity building. Guidelines were classified according to the Global-QUEST framework, which outlines seven domains of capacity building on surgical outreach trips. Guideline development methodology frequencies and domain classifications frequencies were calculated; subsequently, guidelines were aggregated to develop a core guideline for each domain. Results A total of 35 studies were included. Over 200 individual guidelines were extracted, spanning all seven framework domains. Guidelines were most frequently classified into Coordination and Community Impact domains and least frequently into the Finance domain. Less than half (46%) of studies collaborated with local communities to design the guidelines. Instead, guidelines were predominantly developed through author trip experience. Conclusion As short-term surgical trips increase, further work is needed to standardize guidelines, create actionable steps, and promote collaborations in order to promote accountability during short-term surgical outreach trips.