Surgical epidemiology: a call for action

Social Determinants of the Impact of Surgical Disease on Health

“…In this pivotal compilation of data, GBoSD was estimated to be 11% of the total burden of disease. Since that original chapter, many studies have suggested that the surgical burden may be much higher, and the international surgical community has worked to provide improved surgical data, cost-effectiveness analysis, definitions and guidelines for the provision of surgery and the studies of outcomes in low income settings [3,15,16]. The pending 2015 edition of Disease Control Priories will include 4 chapters on surgery and 2 chapters on anesthesia, a significant change in perspective for this important World Bank publication indicative of the role of surgery in global public health.…”

International Elective Opportunities in United States Anesthesia Residency Programs

“…National surveys of orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery residency programs demonstrated that 61%, 55%, and 41% of programs offered global health electives, respectively. 4,11,13 The substantial burden of surgical illness in low-income countries has been recognized by the World Health Organization 16 and leading global economists, 17 and most clinicians recognize the importance of capacity-building and partnership in global health. This is increasingly a factor in residency selection.…”

Generation of political priority for global surgery: a qualitative policy analysis

“…There is disagreement even on the basic issue of how to defi ne surgery and surgical care. 19 Some commentators 16,[20][21][22] draw upon the defi nition of a surgical condition proposed in the second edition of Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries: 1 "any condition that requires suture, incision, excision, manipulation, or other invasive procedure that usually, but not always, requires local, regional, or general anaesthesia". However, some respondents pointed out that this defi nition provides no guidance as to which surgical interventions should be prioritised and does not specify who is qualifi ed to provide such services (interviews 1-3, 6-8, 10-12, 17, and 26).…”