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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Prioritisation of Surgery in the National Health Strategic Plans of Africa: A Systematic Review

Open access
Citron, Isabelle, Chokotho, Linda, Lavy, Chris·2016·World Journal of Surgery

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Disease amenable to surgical intervention accounts for 11-15 % of world disability and there is increasing interest in surgery as a global public health issue. National Health Strategic Plans (NHSPs) reflect countries' long-term health priorities, plans and targets. These plans were analysed to assess the prioritisation of surgery as a public health issue in Africa. METHODS: NHSPs of 43 independent Sub-Saharan African countries available in the public domain in March 2014 in French or English were searched electronically for key terms: surg*, ortho*, trauma, cancer, appendic*, laparotomy, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria. They were then searched manually for disease prevalence, targets, and human resources. RESULTS: 19 % of NHSPs had no mention of surgery or surgical conditions. 63 % had five or less mentions of surgery. HIV and malaria had 3772 mentions across all the policies, compared to surgery with only 376 mentions. Trauma had 239 mentions, while the common surgical conditions of appendicitis, laparotomy and hernia had no mentions at all. Over 95 % of NHSPs specifically mentioned the prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, infant mortality and maternal mortality. Whereas, the most commonly mentioned surgical condition for which a prevalence was given was trauma, in only 47 % of policies. All NHSPs had plans and measurable targets for the reduction of HIV and tuberculosis. Of the total 4064 health targets, only 2 % were related to surgical conditions or surgical care. 33 % of policies had no surgical targets. DISCUSSION: NHSPs are the best available measure of health service and planning priorities. It is clear from our findings that surgery is poorly represented and that surgical conditions and surgical treatment are not widely recognised as a public health priority. Greater prioritisation of surgery in national health strategic policies is required to build resilient surgical systems.

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  1. Debas HT, 2006, Surgery

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Citron, I., Chokotho, L., & Lavy, C.
Affiliations
  • University of Oxford (GB)
  • Beit Cure International Hospital Blantyre Malawi
Corresponding author
Citron, Isabelle
Venue
World Journal of Surgery
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2015-12-28
Volume
40
Issue
4
Pages
779-783
ISSN
  • 0364-2313 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-2323
OpenAlex
W2211772526
Cited by
47
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 7 · 2015: 1
FWCI
0.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • World Journal of Surgery (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Oxford
  • Department for International Development
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Global Health and Surgery
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Healthcare Systems and Practices
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Healthcare Systems and Reforms
Keywords
surgical care, surgical conditions, health policy, sub-Saharan Africa, trauma (physical injury), appendicitis, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, surgical targets
MeSH terms
Africa, Health Planning, Health Policy, Health Priorities, Health Services, Humans, Public Health, General Surgery

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Prioritisation of Surgery in the National Health Strategic Plans of Africa: A Systematic Review. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1007/s00268-015-3333-9
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Citron, I., Chokotho, L., & Lavy, C. (2016). Prioritisation of Surgery in the National Health Strategic Plans of Africa: A Systematic Review. World Journal of Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-015-3333-9

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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

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