M. N. Abraham2, P. J. Abraham1, H. Chen1, K. M. Hendershot1 1University Of Alabama at Birmingham,Department Of Surgery,Birmingham, AL, USA 2University Of Alabama at Birmingham,School Of Medicine,Birmingham, AL, USA
Introduction: Over the last five years, global surgery has emerged as a new field within academic surgery. Global surgery has been defined as “an area for study, research, practice, and advocacy that places priority on improving health outcomes and achieving health equity for all people worldwide who are affected by surgical conditions or have a need for surgical care.” Despite such unifying attempts to provide a common definition, it is unclear whether health care professionals and medical students understand what is meant by the term “global surgery.” This study aims to characterize the understanding of global surgery and what it means to be an academic global surgeon.
Methods: One hundred medical students, residents, physicians, nurses, and allied health care professionals were interviewed on their perceptions of global surgery using a six-question qualitative survey. Respondents were categorized based on gender and apparent age <40 or >=40 years old. Survey responses were coded and analyzed for common themes by two reviewers independently. SPSS was utilized for statistical analysis.
Results: Of the 100 health care professionals surveyed, 61% did not know the meaning of global surgery. While there was no difference between men and women, participants under age 40 were significantly more likely to relay an accurate definition (51% vs 17%, p=0.001). Of participants with knowledge of global surgery, 44% had previous exposure to a global health field and 85% expressed interest in global health or global surgery. Respondents described components of academic global surgery as “research”, “teaching,” “practicing,” and using “evidence-based medicine.” An effective career in global surgery was most often categorized as “sustainable” and “impactful.”
Conclusion: Although often used in academic surgical settings, the term “global surgery” is not well-understood among health care professionals and medical students. Even among those who are familiar with the term, there is no clear consensus on what it means to be a global surgeon or what constitutes a successful career in global surgery.