Global general pediatric surgery partnership: The UCLA-Mozambique experience

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Pediatric Surgery
• Academic Partnerships

Background:

• Recognizing global disparities in surgical care.
• Initiatives to enhance surgical infrastructure and training in low-income countries.
• Focus on improving pediatric general surgery in resource-limited settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the initial 5 years of a global academic pediatric general surgery partnership.
• To assess the collaboration between UCLA and Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique.
• To understand the impact of academic partnerships on surgical care in sub-Saharan Africa.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a mixed-methods approach for ongoing needs assessment.
• Conducted a retrospective review of admission and operative logbooks.
• Summarized partnership activities and outcomes.

Main Results:

• Needs assessment revealed challenges: limited operative time, personnel, equipment, and resources.
• Logbook review showed high rates of burn admissions and colorectal procedures.
• Partnership activities included educational resources, proctoring, training, and research collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Highlights the disease spectrum and case volume at a sub-Saharan African pediatric general surgery referral center.
• Provides context for academic partnerships to enhance training.
• Emphasizes improving the quality of pediatric general surgical care in limited-resource environments.