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The Development and Inclusion of Questions on Surgery in the 2018 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey

Juran, Sabrina ; Moren, Sanna ; Santhirapala, Vatshalan ; Roa, Lina ; Makasa, Emmanuel ; Davies, Justine ; Guzman, Jose Miguel ; Hagander, Lars LU orcid ; Holmer, Hampus LU and Shrime, Mark G. LU , et al. (2021) In Global Health Science and Practice 9(4). p.905-914
Abstract

Background: While primary data on the unmet need for surgery in low- and middle-income countries is lacking, household surveys could provide an entry point to collect such data. We describe the first development and inclusion of questions on surgery in a nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Zambia. Method: Questions regarding surgical conditions were developed through an iterative consultative process and integrated into the rollout of the DHS survey in Zambia in 2018 and administered to a nationwide sample survey of eligible women aged 15-49 years and men aged 15-59 years. Results: In total, 7 questions covering 4 themes of service delivery, diagnosed burden of surgical disease, access to care, and quality... (More)

Background: While primary data on the unmet need for surgery in low- and middle-income countries is lacking, household surveys could provide an entry point to collect such data. We describe the first development and inclusion of questions on surgery in a nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Zambia. Method: Questions regarding surgical conditions were developed through an iterative consultative process and integrated into the rollout of the DHS survey in Zambia in 2018 and administered to a nationwide sample survey of eligible women aged 15-49 years and men aged 15-59 years. Results: In total, 7 questions covering 4 themes of service delivery, diagnosed burden of surgical disease, access to care, and quality of care were added. The questions were administered across 12,831 households (13,683 women aged 15-49 years and 12,132 men aged 15-59 years). Results showed that approximately 5% of women and 2% of men had undergone an operation in the past 5 years. Among women, cesarean delivery was the most common surgery; circumcision was the most common procedure among men. In the past 5 years, an estimated 0.61% of the population had been told by a health care worker that they might need surgery, and of this group, 35% had undergone the relevant procedure. Conclusion: For the first time, questions on surgery have been included in a nationwide DHS. We have shown that it is feasible to integrate these questions into a large-scale survey to provide insight into surgical needs at a national level. Based on the DHS design and implementation mechanisms, a country interested in including a set of questions like the one included in Zambia, could replicate this data collection in other settings, which provides an opportunity for systematic collection of comparable surgical data, a vital role in surgical health care system strengthening.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Global Health Science and Practice
volume
9
issue
4
pages
10 pages
publisher
U.S. Agency for International Development
external identifiers
  • pmid:34933985
  • scopus:85122595868
ISSN
2169-575X
DOI
10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00619
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9f9bb747-81b3-4476-a7f4-d8501ff48188
date added to LUP
2022-03-07 15:00:28
date last changed
2024-06-07 15:36:03
@article{9f9bb747-81b3-4476-a7f4-d8501ff48188,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: While primary data on the unmet need for surgery in low- and middle-income countries is lacking, household surveys could provide an entry point to collect such data. We describe the first development and inclusion of questions on surgery in a nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Zambia. Method: Questions regarding surgical conditions were developed through an iterative consultative process and integrated into the rollout of the DHS survey in Zambia in 2018 and administered to a nationwide sample survey of eligible women aged 15-49 years and men aged 15-59 years. Results: In total, 7 questions covering 4 themes of service delivery, diagnosed burden of surgical disease, access to care, and quality of care were added. The questions were administered across 12,831 households (13,683 women aged 15-49 years and 12,132 men aged 15-59 years). Results showed that approximately 5% of women and 2% of men had undergone an operation in the past 5 years. Among women, cesarean delivery was the most common surgery; circumcision was the most common procedure among men. In the past 5 years, an estimated 0.61% of the population had been told by a health care worker that they might need surgery, and of this group, 35% had undergone the relevant procedure. Conclusion: For the first time, questions on surgery have been included in a nationwide DHS. We have shown that it is feasible to integrate these questions into a large-scale survey to provide insight into surgical needs at a national level. Based on the DHS design and implementation mechanisms, a country interested in including a set of questions like the one included in Zambia, could replicate this data collection in other settings, which provides an opportunity for systematic collection of comparable surgical data, a vital role in surgical health care system strengthening.</p>}},
  author       = {{Juran, Sabrina and Moren, Sanna and Santhirapala, Vatshalan and Roa, Lina and Makasa, Emmanuel and Davies, Justine and Guzman, Jose Miguel and Hagander, Lars and Holmer, Hampus and Shrime, Mark G. and Weiser, Thomas G. and Meara, John G. and Klug, Stefanie J. and Ljungman, David}},
  issn         = {{2169-575X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{905--914}},
  publisher    = {{U.S. Agency for International Development}},
  series       = {{Global Health Science and Practice}},
  title        = {{The Development and Inclusion of Questions on Surgery in the 2018 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00619}},
  doi          = {{10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00619}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}