The World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Young Neurosurgeons Survey (Part I): Demographics, Resources, and Education

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

doi:10.1016/j.wnsx.2020.100083

Cited by 31 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 32 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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“…Another consideration is technicality and resource availability. Cisternostomy is a complex microsurgical procedure, and few LMIC neurosurgeons have the experience and equipment to perform cisternostomy safely [ 32 , 33 , 44 , 45 ]. The expansion of cisternostomy in LMICs will require capacity building and increased access to microscopes in the form of fellowships and the development of low-cost microscopes [ 38 – 43 ].…”

Section: Practice Of Cisternostomy For Tbi Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise of Inflow Cisternostomy in Resource-Limited Settings: Rationale, Limitations, and Future Challenges

Kanmounye¹

2021

Emergency Medicine International

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Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear most of the global burden of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but they lack the resources to address this public health crisis. For TBI guidelines and innovations to be effective, they must consider the context in LMICs; keeping this in mind, this article will focus on the history, pathophysiology, practice, evidence, and implications of cisternostomy. In this narrative review, the author discusses the history, pathophysiology, practice, evidence, and implications of cisternostomy. Cisternostomy for the management of TBI is an innovation developed in LMICs, primarily for LMICs. Its practice is based on the cerebrospinal fluid shift edema theory that attributes injury to increased pressure within the subarachnoid space due to subarachnoid hemorrhage and subsequent dysfunction of glymphatic drainage. Early reports of the technique report significant improvements in the Glasgow Outcome Scale, lower mortality rates, and shorter intensive care unit durations. Most reports are single-center studies with small sample sizes, and the technique requires experience and skill. These limitations have led to criticisms and slow adoption of the technique. Further research is needed to establish the effect of cisternostomy on TBI outcomes.

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“…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). 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).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies' Global Neurosurgery Committee has set-up a mentorship program and funding mechanisms (8). to promote research in low-and middle-income countries, no study, to our knowledge, has described a formal capacity-building initiative aiming to increase academic global neurosurgery exposure among aspiring neurosurgeons (5,6).…”

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 I): Demographics, Resources, and Education

Cited by 31 publications

References 32 publications

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

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

The Rise of Inflow Cisternostomy in Resource-Limited Settings: Rationale, Limitations, and Future Challenges

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

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