Paediatric surgical outreach in central region of Ghana

Gladys Amponsah1, Victor Kobby Etwire2

  • 1School of Anaesthesia, Ridge Regional Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Insights

Paediatric surgical outreach programmes in Ghana address accessibility barriers, demonstrating cost-effectiveness and a crucial need for continued expansion to serve more children. These initiatives are vital for improving surgical care in underserved regions.

Area of Science:

  • Global Health
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Surgical Outreach

Background:

  • Surgical care is globally needed but faces significant accessibility barriers in low- and middle-income countries.
  • Surgical outreach programmes are a key strategy to mitigate these barriers and improve access to care.
  • Limited access to paediatric surgery in Ghana necessitates targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact and necessity of a paediatric surgical outreach programme in Ghana.
  • To analyze the types of procedures performed and patient demographics during the outreach.
  • To assess the cost-effectiveness and future need for such programmes.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective analysis of paediatric surgical outreach cases conducted between June 2011 and June 2014.
  • Data collected from a teaching hospital in Ghana's Central Region, facilitated by a surgeon from Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
  • Inclusion of all paediatric patients who underwent surgery during the study period.

Main Results:

  • 185 paediatric patients underwent surgery, with a mean age of 4.53 years; 51.9% were aged 1-5 years.
  • The majority of procedures were minor operations (87%), with inguinal herniotomy being the most common (47.2%).
  • No surgical complications were reported among the patients.

Conclusions:

  • Paediatric surgical outreach programmes are essential and cost-effective for addressing surgical needs in Ghana.
  • Continued and expanded outreach is necessary due to the current rate of paediatric surgeon graduation.
  • Extending these programmes to other regions is recommended to increase coverage for children nationwide.
Abstract

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