{"title":"The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Reconstructive Surgery and Training Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey.","authors":"Mariama Ka, Ali Modarressi, Lionel Dumont","doi":"10.61186/wjps.13.2.11","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Sub-Saharan Africa, which already faces challenges due to a lack of surgeons and facilities, the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly disrupt surgical activities and training programs. \"2<sup>nd</sup> Chance\", a non-governmental organization providing training program to enhance local reconstructive surgery capacity in this region since 2015, could play a crucial role in addressing these issues. We aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 on the activity of sub-Saharan African reconstructive surgeons collaborating with \"2<sup>nd</sup> Chance\" organization and evaluate its effect on the organization's training programs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In the course of 2022, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted among reconstructive surgeons working in sub-Saharan African countries and collaborating with \"2<sup>nd</sup> Chance\". The survey consisted of 57 questions covering demographics, impacts of COVID-19 on personal life, clinical and training activities.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 469 surgeons eligible for the study, 240 were included and 51 responded. The impact of COVID-19 was felt personally in terms of health and stress. Clinical activities were severely affected, with some reporting higher mortality due to surgical cancellations and delays. Regarding training, there was a shift from practical to theoretical learning, though overall impact was moderate. One-third of participants were able to attend \"2<sup>nd</sup> Chance\" workshops. Among the 17 planned workshops, 9 were successfully conducted, and 4 of them exclusively featured African trainers.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic had substantial consequences on reconstructive surgery in sub-Saharan Africa, impacting more clinical practices than training programs. Collaboration between African and European trainers proved essential during the pandemic. In future pandemics, South-South collaborations should be prioritized.</p>","PeriodicalId":23736,"journal":{"name":"World Journal of Plastic Surgery","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11346696/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"World Journal of Plastic Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.61186/wjps.13.2.11","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: In Sub-Saharan Africa, which already faces challenges due to a lack of surgeons and facilities, the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly disrupt surgical activities and training programs. "2nd Chance", a non-governmental organization providing training program to enhance local reconstructive surgery capacity in this region since 2015, could play a crucial role in addressing these issues. We aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 on the activity of sub-Saharan African reconstructive surgeons collaborating with "2nd Chance" organization and evaluate its effect on the organization's training programs.
Methods: In the course of 2022, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted among reconstructive surgeons working in sub-Saharan African countries and collaborating with "2nd Chance". The survey consisted of 57 questions covering demographics, impacts of COVID-19 on personal life, clinical and training activities.
Results: Of 469 surgeons eligible for the study, 240 were included and 51 responded. The impact of COVID-19 was felt personally in terms of health and stress. Clinical activities were severely affected, with some reporting higher mortality due to surgical cancellations and delays. Regarding training, there was a shift from practical to theoretical learning, though overall impact was moderate. One-third of participants were able to attend "2nd Chance" workshops. Among the 17 planned workshops, 9 were successfully conducted, and 4 of them exclusively featured African trainers.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had substantial consequences on reconstructive surgery in sub-Saharan Africa, impacting more clinical practices than training programs. Collaboration between African and European trainers proved essential during the pandemic. In future pandemics, South-South collaborations should be prioritized.