Surgical Outreach for Children by International Humanitarian Organizations: A Review

Abstract

Low- and middle-income countries carry a disproportionate share of the global burden of pediatric surgical disease and have limited local healthcare infrastructure and human resources to address this burden. Humanitarian efforts that have improved or provided access to necessary basic or emergency surgery for children in these settings have included humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, short-term surgical missions, and long-term projects such as building pediatric specialty hospitals and provider networks. Each of these efforts may also include educational initiatives designed to increase local capacity. This article will provide an overview of pediatric humanitarian surgical outreach including reference to available evidence-based analyses of these platforms and make recommendations for surgical outreach initiatives for children.

Impact of short-term reconstructive surgical missions: a systematic review

“…Several systematic reviews about short-term medical missions are available 7 9 10 12–15. This is the first systematic review that specifically assesses the quality of available data on short-term reconstructive surgical missions.…”

“…Despite being a common model, the impact of reconstructive surgical missions is hardly known 5 6. Medical missions in general are commonly debated in the literature 7–15. There is rising concern about the limited accountability of missions, with little data reported back to healthcare authorities due to a lack of outcome measurements 8 9.…”

“…Medical missions in general are commonly debated in the literature 7–15. There is rising concern about the limited accountability of missions, with little data reported back to healthcare authorities due to a lack of outcome measurements 8 9. Quality of care is debated, as missions often have limited capacity to provide ancillary services or follow-up 16.…”

“…These concerns are discussed in several reviews of medical missions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) 7 9 10 12–15 19. For instance, Martiniuk et al and Roche et al argued that global standards are needed for short-term medical missions,7 14 and Sykes shows that only 6% of all published studies on medical missions report on empirical data 10.…”

“…For instance, Martiniuk et al and Roche et al argued that global standards are needed for short-term medical missions,7 14 and Sykes shows that only 6% of all published studies on medical missions report on empirical data 10. Only a few studies reviewed surgical missions specifically 9 12–15 19. Shrime et al systematically compare three types of charitable platforms for global surgery (short-term missions, self-contained surgical platforms and specialty surgical hospitals run by non-governmental organisations [NGOs]).…”