Ethical considerations in surgical care: cultural and religious perspectives in Africa

Surgical care in the continent of Africa encounters a wide array of issues, comprising a lack of access to emergency and essential surgery. Optimal pre-, peri-, and post-operative care is guided by the four pillars of medical ethics: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. This may not be the case for low-resource domiciles as issues circumventing low literacy levels, poor infrastructure, poverty, and inequities in social health are cumbersome. Moreover, there is no homogeneity in the cultures and religious diversity that Africa has to offer which has led to a variety of healthcare decisions being made alongside an influence on the relationships developed between patients and their healthcare providers.

This study aims to address the influences of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds in ethical decision-making in African surgical care. Moreover, the study suggests strategies for mitigating diversity issues through developing environment-based protocols that promote ethically acceptable and culturally sensitive local surgical care.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to explore the present state of surgical care in Africa alongside the ethical principles guiding surgical care and cultural/religious considerations that may affect healthcare decisions when establishing patient-provider rapport. The databases used are PubMed/MEDLINE and EBSCOhost. Our search terms were "surgical care," "ethical consideration," "Africa," and "culture and religion in Africa." This enabled us to meticulously look into the existing findings to develop suggestions based on the gaps.

The literature review demonstrated the complex interplay between moral principles, cultural and religious outlooks, and surgical care provision in Africa. Some of the strategies found useful in this case are strengthening health systems, resources adequacy alongside context-based directives as well as capacity building. Additionally, cultural understanding, active listening and appreciation of diversity is critical since patients will receive culturally competent care and minimize chances for medical errors.

Tackling Ethical challenges in African surgical care requires multiple approaches that accommodate religion's diverse culture. To do this, healthcare workers must cooperate with community members and policymakers to develop policies for ethically and culturally acceptable surgical approaches. Further research is warranted to evaluate the efficacy of these interventions.