Battling against the great disruption to surgical care in a pandemic: experiences of 11 South and Southeast Asian countries.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The majority of the cancelled elective surgeries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic globally were estimated to occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where surgical services had long been in short supply even before the pandemic. Therefore, minimising disruption to existing surgical care in LMICs is of crucial importance during a pandemic. This study aimed to explore contributory factors to the continuity of surgical care in LMICs in the face of a pandemic.

Design

Semistructured interviews were conducted over zoom with surgical leaders of 25 tertiary hospitals from 11 LMICs in South and Southeast Asia in September to October 2020. Key themes were subsequently identified from the interview transcripts using the Braun and Clarke's method of thematic analysi

SUBMITTER: Huang WN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10111189 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature