Exploring the knowledge and attitudes of Cameroonian medical students towards global surgery: A web-based survey

Abstract

Introduction Global surgery is a growing field studying the determinants of safe and affordable surgical care and advocating to gain the global health community's attention. In Cameroon, little is known about the level of knowledge and attitudes of students. Our survey aimed to describe the knowledge and attitudes of Cameroonian medical students towards global surgery. Materials and methods We performed an anonymous online survey of final-year Cameroonian medical students. Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation analysis were used for bivariate analysis, and the alpha value was set at 0.05. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results 204 respondents with a mean age of 24.7 years (±2.0) participated in this study. 58.3% were male, 41.6% had previously heard or read about global surgery, 36.3% had taken part in a global surgery study, and 10.8% had attended a global surgery event. Mercy Ships was well known (46.5%), and most students believed that surgical interventions were more costly than medical treatments (75.0%). The mean score of the global surgery evaluation was 47.4% (±29.6%), and being able to recognize more global surgery organizations was correlated with having assumed multiple roles during global surgery studies (p = 0.008) and identifying more global surgery indicators (p = 0.04). Workforce, infrastructure, and funding were highlighted as the top priorities for the development of global surgery in Cameroon.

Retrospective review of Google Trends to gauge the popularity of global surgery worldwide: A cross-sectional study

“…A growing interest in GS is apparent in the current cohort of medical students, with students increasingly engaging in advocacy work, joining GS programs, and engaging in research [ 15 ]. This recently marked interest is a key component of social media, which has exposed students to GS inequities and initiatives where respective medical institutions have fallen short [ 16 ]. Several initiatives have been integral to this growth, such as InciSioN and Global Surgery Student Alliance (GSSA) in the United States [ 8 , 15 ].…”

International Survey of Medical Students Exposure to Relevant Global Surgery (ISOMERS): A Cross‐Sectional Study

“…Cross-sectional studies have been conducted across national populations to acquire information on the degree of exposure medical students have to global surgery [ 9 , 10 ]. These have consistently highlighted medical students have insufficient teaching [ 9 ] or experience [ 10 ] in global surgery, despite substantial interest in the topic [ 10 , 11 ]. Global surgery courses and conferences attempt to meet this deficit between supply and demand [ 11 ].…”

Cleft Lip and Palate Research in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Scientometric Analysis

“…Despite its rapid growth, global plastic surgery is underrecognized by LMIC medical students and residents. 29 One reason is the confusion regarding what qualifies as “global plastic surgery.” Many authors have discussed plastic and reconstructive surgery in low-resource settings; however, global plastic surgery as a field remains poorly defined. 30 Based on the definition of global surgery by Bath et al, 31 global plastic surgery can be defined “as the enterprise of providing improved and equitable [plastic surgery] care to the world’s population, with its core tenets as the issues of need, access, and quality.” This aim can be achieved via one or more global plastic surgery pillars: education, policy, advocacy, and research.…”

“…28 Despite its rapid growth, global plastic surgery is underrecognized by LMIC medical students and residents. 29 One reason is the confusion regarding what qualifies as "global plastic surgery." Many authors have discussed plastic and reconstructive surgery in lowresource settings; however, global plastic surgery as a field remains poorly defined.…”