The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Young Neurosurgeons Survey (Part II): Barriers to Professional Development and Service Delivery in Neurosurgery

Robertson, Faith C.; Gnanakumar, Sujit; Karekezi, Claire; Vaughan, Kerry A.; García, Roxanna M.; Bourquin, Bilal Abou El Ela; Hassani, Fahd Derkaoui; Alamri, Alexander; Mentri, N.; Höhne, Julius; Laeke, Tsegazeab; Al-Jehani, Hosam; Moscote-Salazar, Luis Rafael; Al-Ahmari, Ahmed Nasser; Samprón, Nicolás; Stienen, Martin N.; Nicolosi, Federico; Solla, Davi Jorge Fontoura; Adelson, P. David; Servadei, Franco; Al‐Habib, Amro; Esene, Ignatius; Kolias, Angelos

doi:10.1016/j.wnsx.2020.100084

Cited by 49 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This was a cross-sectional study consisting of a self-administered survey composed of 28 multiple-choice and two free-text questions (Appendix 1) on the respondents' demographics, the type of neurosurgical center they worked in, access to infrastructures, facilitators, and barriers of research and education in daily practice, and suggested solutions (9,10).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To understand the barriers and facilitators of research and education in African neurosurgery, the Young African Neurosurgeons Committee and the Young Neurosurgeons Forum of the WFNS (YNF-WFNS) surveyed residents, fellows, and consultants who are within 10 years of completing residency (9,10). In this paper, we aimed to assess the needs and challenges faced by young African neurosurgeons and residents in their daily clinical and research activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Needs of Young African Neurosurgeons and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kanmounye¹,

Robertson

Thango

et al. 2021

Front. Surg.

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Introduction: Africa has many untreated neurosurgical cases due to limited access to safe, affordable, and timely care. In this study, we surveyed young African neurosurgeons and trainees to identify challenges to training and practice.Methods: African trainees and residents were surveyed online by the Young Neurosurgeons Forum from April 25th to November 30th, 2018. The survey link was distributed via social media platforms and through professional society mailing lists. Univariate and bivariate data analyses were run and a P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results: 112 respondents from 20 countries participated in this study. 98 (87.5%) were male, 63 (56.3%) were from sub-Saharan Africa, and 52 (46.4%) were residents. 39 (34.8%) had regular journal club sessions at their hospital, 100 (89.3%) did not have access to cadaver dissection labs, and 62 (55.4%) had never attended a WFNS-endorsed conference. 67.0% of respondents reported limited research opportunities and 58.9% reported limited education opportunities. Lack of mentorship (P = 0.023, Phi = 0.26), lack of access to journals (P = 0.002, Phi = 0.332), and limited access to conferences (P = 0.019, Phi = 0.369) were associated with the country income category.Conclusion: This survey identified barriers to education, research, and practice among African trainees and young neurosurgeons. The findings of this study should inform future initiatives aimed at reducing the barriers faced by this group.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Needs of Young African Neurosurgeons and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kanmounye¹,

Robertson

Thango

et al. 2021

Front. Surg.

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“…The estimated completion rate according to SurveyMonkey was 52%. This study was intended to reach at least comparable response rate (3 to 5% when calculated using standard distribution platforms excluding social media) and completion rate (70%) to recently published neurosurgical surveys (20)(21)(22).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unequal Impact of COVID-19 on Private and Academic Neurosurgical Workforce: Results of an International Survey

et al. 2021

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Background: Since the COVID-19 outbreak several manuscripts regarding neurosurgical practice during this pandemic have been published. Qualitative studies on how the pandemic affected neurosurgeons, with additional focus on their practice, are still scarce. This study's objective was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of the professional and private life of a homogeneous group of international neurosurgeons affiliated to the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).Methods: Neurosurgeons from Europe and abroad were invited to participate in an online survey endorsed by the Individual Membership Committee of the EANS. The survey captured a subjective snapshot of the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on EANS members and was advertised through its Institutional website. In addition to departmental data, personal feeling of safety, financial security, local precautions, number of surgeries performed, changes in daily routine, and other practice-related information were inquired. Differences among practice types were closely reviewed.Results: The survey was distributed between April and May 2020: 204 neurosurgeons participated. Participants were typically active EANS members (73%), consultants (57.9%), from university hospitals (64.5%). Elective surgical practice was still ongoing only for 15% of responders, whereas 18.7% of them had already transitioned to COVID-19 and emergency medical services. While 65.7% of participants thought their institutions were adequately prepared, lack of testing for SARS-CoV-2, and scarcity of personal protective equipment were still a matter of concern for most of them. Overall surgical activity dropped by 68% (cranial by 54%, spine by 71%), and even emergencies decreased by 35%. COVID-19 prompted changes in communication in 74% of departments, 44% increased telemedicine by >50%. While most neurosurgeons had concerns about personal and families' health, financial outlook appeared to be gloomy only for private practitioners.Conclusion: The lockdown imposed in many countries by the COVID-19 outbreak called for immediate modification of working routine and resulted in a dramatic decrease of elective surgical procedures. Neurosurgeons share common concerns but were not equally exposed to the personal health and financial dangers of the ongoing pandemic.

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“…More than one-third of African countries have no peer-reviewed neurosurgery articles, and the median number of articles for African countries with peer-reviewed articles is six publications (1). The low academic output is primarily due to a workforce shortage, and for the few neurosurgeons available, the patient workload is an impediment to research (2)(3)(4). Other barriers include a lack of exposure, lack of protected research time, limited access to articles, and lack of mentorship (5,6).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, more than 60% of aspiring African neurosurgeons do not have a mentor and have never presented an abstract at a conference, participated in a journal club, or contributed to a manuscript (7). One reason for the lack of exposure is that academic neurosurgeons do not have time for research activities (3,4). Aspiring neurosurgeons can contribute to the academic neurosurgery workforce by taking care of less technical and time-consuming research tasks, creating time for academic neurosurgeons to do more research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Training the Next Generation of Academic Global Neurosurgeons: Experience of the Association of Future African Neurosurgeons

Kanmounye¹,

Zolo

Nguembu

et al. 2021

Front. Surg.

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Introduction: Although the past decade has seen a substantial increase in African neurosurgeons' academic productivity, productivity remains low compared to their colleagues from other regions. Aspiring neurosurgeons can contribute to the academic neurosurgery workforce by taking care of less technical and time-consuming research tasks. Fortunately, global neurosurgery institutions have also made efforts to increase research exposure and scholarly output in academic global neurosurgery. The Association of Future African Neurosurgeons (AFAN) created a research incubator for aspiring academic global neurosurgeons in Africa to provide enrollees with mentorship, skills, and experience. This study assesses and reports the activities and results of the research incubator.Methods: Aspiring academic global neurosurgeons were enrolled in the AFAN Research Incubator Program (ARIP), whose primary objective was to provide enrollees with foundational skills in all aspects of the research cycle. ARIP enrollees participated in didactic and practical activities with the aim of publishing ≥1 article and presenting ≥1 abstracts at international conferences in one year.Results: Fifteen AFAN members aged 25.0 ± 3.0 years enrolled in ARIP: 7 (46.7%) medical students, 4 (26.7%) general practitioners, and 4 (26.7%) residents. Eleven (73.3%) were male, 6 (40.0%) were from Cameroon and 6 (40.0%) had no previous research experience. Two (13.3%) enrollees dropped out. ARIP enrollees published a total of 28 articles, and enrollees published a median of 1.0 (IQR = 2) first-author articles on neurosurgical system strengthening. Additionally, ARIP enrollees presented 20 abstracts with a median of one abstract (IQR = 3.0).Conclusion: South-South research collaborations like ARIP can contribute to improving global neurosurgery research capacity and output. These collaborations can set up the foundations for robust research in low- and middle-income countries.

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The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Young Neurosurgeons Survey (Part II): Barriers to Professional Development and Service Delivery in Neurosurgery

Cited by 49 publications

References 26 publications

Needs of Young African Neurosurgeons and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Needs of Young African Neurosurgeons and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Unequal Impact of COVID-19 on Private and Academic Neurosurgical Workforce: Results of an International Survey

Training the Next Generation of Academic Global Neurosurgeons: Experience of the Association of Future African Neurosurgeons

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