Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Surgical Correction for Pediatric Epiblepharon and Trichiasis
03:59

Surgical Correction for Pediatric Epiblepharon and Trichiasis

Published on: July 8, 2025

571

Prevalence of Pediatric Surgical Conditions Across Somaliland

Tessa Concepcion1, Mubarak Mohamed2, Shugri Dahir2

  • 1Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

JAMA Network Open
|January 16, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric surgical conditions are highly prevalent in Somaliland, affecting 12.2% of children. A significant unmet need for surgical care exists, highlighting the urgent requirement for improved pediatric surgical services in low- and middle-income countries.

Area of Science:

  • Global Health
  • Pediatric Surgery
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Surgical conditions pose a significant health burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
  • The prevalence of pediatric surgical conditions in LMICs remains poorly defined.
  • Understanding this burden is crucial for resource allocation and healthcare planning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the prevalence of pediatric surgical conditions in Somaliland.
  • To assess the unmet surgical needs among children in the region.
  • To inform the development of pediatric surgical services in LMICs.

Main Methods:

  • A nationwide community-based household survey was conducted in Somaliland from August to December 2017.
  • The Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) tool was used to survey 1503 children.
  • Data collected included household demographics and children's history of surgical conditions.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of pediatric surgical conditions was 12.2% (95% CI: 10.7–13.7), with 221 conditions identified in 196 children.
  • Congenital anomalies (33.8%) and wound-related injuries (24.6%) were the most common conditions.
  • Only 23.7% of identified surgical conditions had been surgically corrected, indicating a substantial unmet need.

Conclusions:

  • Children in Somaliland experience a high burden of surgical conditions.
  • There is a significant gap in accessing necessary surgical care for children.
  • Findings underscore the need to scale up pediatric surgical infrastructure and resources in LMICs.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Conditional Reprogramming of Pediatric Human Esophageal Epithelial Cells for Use in Tissue Engineering and Disease Investigation10:15

Conditional Reprogramming of Pediatric Human Esophageal Epithelial Cells for Use in Tissue Engineering and Disease Investigation

Published on: March 22, 2017

7.3K
Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation11:19

Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation

Published on: January 17, 2011

18.5K

Related Concept Videos

Prevalence and Incidence01:08

Prevalence and Incidence

In statistical epidemiology and health sciences, two essential metrics—prevalence and incidence—are fundamental for understanding disease dynamics within a population. These measures enable public health officials, epidemiologists, and researchers to assess the burden of diseases, allocate resources effectively, and design impactful public health policies and interventions.
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...
1.8K
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...
259
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution01:17

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution

Drug distribution in the pediatric population exhibits unique challenges and considerations due to the physiological differences between children, particularly neonates and infants, and adults. A crucial aspect of pediatric pharmacology is understanding how these differences impact the pharmacokinetics of various drugs, necessitating age-specific dosing strategies to ensure efficacy and safety.Neonates and infants have a higher total body water content, ~75%–90% of their body weight,...
304
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism01:24

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism

In pediatric care, understanding the nuances of hepatic drug metabolism is crucial, as it significantly differs from that of adults. This divergence is primarily due to the developmental stage of drug-metabolizing enzymes, which affects how medications are processed in the body. In neonates, for instance, the activity of Phase I enzymes—critical for the initial breakdown of drugs—is markedly reduced, functioning at just 20–40% of the levels seen in adults. This reduction poses...
223
Conditions on Early Earth02:06

Conditions on Early Earth

Around 4 billion years ago, oceans began to condense on earth while volcanic eruptions released nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen into the primordial atmosphere. However, organisms with the characteristics of life were not initially present on earth. Scientists have used experimentation to determine how organisms evolved that could grow, reproduce, and maintain an internal environment.
101.4K
Classical Conditioning01:18

Classical Conditioning

Associative learning, a core principle in behavioral psychology, involves forming connections between events and facilitating learned responses. This concept is vividly illustrated by classical conditioning, a process extensively studied by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov's pioneering research on dogs' digestive systems led to the discovery that behaviors can be learned through association, laying the groundwork for classical conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov observed that dogs...
2.2K