ARTICLE: Correlation of Pediatric Surgical Infrastructure With Clinical and Economic Outcomes

Access to pediatric surgical care is a critical determinant of child health outcomes, yet children in low- and middle-income countries remain without the adequate surgical infrastructures they need. Surgical procedures focused on pediatrics specialize in the treatment of newborns until the age of 18, such as treating respiratory, digestive, and urogenital diseases. However, the lack of pediatric operating rooms and the financial burden on families has limited accessible practice. Many low- and middle-income settings, such as Ethiopia, experience significantly higher child health problems due to factors like malnutrition, infectious diseases, poor sanitation, and limited access to healthcare due to a lack of infrastructures and financial resources. 

Recognizing the pressing need for enhanced pediatric surgical services, a dedicated team of CHESA alumni fellows, Samuel Negash, Ava Yap, Caroline Q Stephens, Ruth Laverde, and CHESA Director Doruk Ozgediz, along with partners, collaborated to tackle this issue. The team performed a retrospective cohort study, developing a structured pediatric operating room (OR) in a tertiary-level Ethiopian public hospital to perform elective surgery on children.

After conducting multiple elective surgeries, clinical data was collected through chart reviews and an economic survey that was administered to patient caregivers. The economic survey aimed to compare the patient’s household income to the monetary health benefit gained, resulting in positive results. 

In the results of this cohort study, four years of data were included ranging from August 2018 to July 2022, gathering information from 1,196 patients. The results showed that with the addition of the OR in Ethiopia, approximately 20,541 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), or years lost due to poor health, were averted. This ultimately resulted in a net monetary health benefit of $26,646 per patient and family. 

These findings highlight the program’s success in enhancing surgical outcomes and the potential for a sustainable future in Ethiopia, that can foster a culture of continuous improvement for quality of life for children in need of medical aid. The success of this cohort study can serve as a model for future investments in pediatric surgical infrastructures, and to close the gap in global inequities in child health.

Read more about the study here: Correlation of Pediatric Surgical Infrastructure With Clinical and Economic Outcomes: A Cohort Study – PubMed