Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania

Global surgery is an essential component of Universal Health Coverage. Surgical conditions account for almost one-third of the global burden of disease, with the majority of patients living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Children account for more than half of the global populatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shobhana Nagraj, Godfrey Sama Philipo, Zaitun M Bokhary
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-03-01
Series:BMJ Global Health
Online Access:https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/3/e002118.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846127712692862976
author Shobhana Nagraj
Godfrey Sama Philipo
Zaitun M Bokhary
author_facet Shobhana Nagraj
Godfrey Sama Philipo
Zaitun M Bokhary
author_sort Shobhana Nagraj
collection DOAJ
description Global surgery is an essential component of Universal Health Coverage. Surgical conditions account for almost one-third of the global burden of disease, with the majority of patients living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Children account for more than half of the global population; however, in many LMIC settings they have poor access to surgical care due to a lack of workforce and health system infrastructure to match the need for children’s surgery. Surgical providers from high-income countries volunteer to visit LMICs and partner with the local providers to deliver surgical care and trainings to improve outcomes. However, some of these altruistic efforts fail. We aim to share our experience on developing, implementing and sustaining a partnership in global children’s surgery in Tanzania. The use of participatory methods facilitated a successful 17-yearlong partnership, ensured a non-hierarchical environment and encouraged an understanding of the context, local needs, available resources and hospital capacity, including budget constraints, when codesigning solutions. We believe that participatory approaches are feasible and valuable in developing, implementing and sustaining global partnerships for children’s surgery in LMICs.
format Article
id doaj-art-ff2d7ebd93f8467799bf6d9815a82b65
institution Kabale University
issn 2059-7908
language English
publishDate 2020-03-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Global Health
spelling doaj-art-ff2d7ebd93f8467799bf6d9815a82b652024-12-11T12:35:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082020-03-015310.1136/bmjgh-2019-002118Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in TanzaniaShobhana Nagraj0Godfrey Sama Philipo1Zaitun M Bokhary2assistant professor of primary and community careBiostatistcs and Epidemiology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of TanzaniaDepartment of Paediatirc Surgery, Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of TanzaniaGlobal surgery is an essential component of Universal Health Coverage. Surgical conditions account for almost one-third of the global burden of disease, with the majority of patients living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Children account for more than half of the global population; however, in many LMIC settings they have poor access to surgical care due to a lack of workforce and health system infrastructure to match the need for children’s surgery. Surgical providers from high-income countries volunteer to visit LMICs and partner with the local providers to deliver surgical care and trainings to improve outcomes. However, some of these altruistic efforts fail. We aim to share our experience on developing, implementing and sustaining a partnership in global children’s surgery in Tanzania. The use of participatory methods facilitated a successful 17-yearlong partnership, ensured a non-hierarchical environment and encouraged an understanding of the context, local needs, available resources and hospital capacity, including budget constraints, when codesigning solutions. We believe that participatory approaches are feasible and valuable in developing, implementing and sustaining global partnerships for children’s surgery in LMICs.https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/3/e002118.full
spellingShingle Shobhana Nagraj
Godfrey Sama Philipo
Zaitun M Bokhary
Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania
BMJ Global Health
title Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania
title_full Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania
title_fullStr Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania
title_full_unstemmed Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania
title_short Lessons from developing, implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children’s surgical care in Tanzania
title_sort lessons from developing implementing and sustaining a participatory partnership for children s surgical care in tanzania
url https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/3/e002118.full
work_keys_str_mv AT shobhananagraj lessonsfromdevelopingimplementingandsustainingaparticipatorypartnershipforchildrenssurgicalcareintanzania
AT godfreysamaphilipo lessonsfromdevelopingimplementingandsustainingaparticipatorypartnershipforchildrenssurgicalcareintanzania
AT zaitunmbokhary lessonsfromdevelopingimplementingandsustainingaparticipatorypartnershipforchildrenssurgicalcareintanzania