Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study
Background The global burden of disease in children is large and disproportionally affects low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Geospatial analysis offers powerful tools to quantify and visualise disparities in surgical care in LMICs. Our study aims to analyse the geographical distributio...
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doaj-7dd35c3798044c9083ad6ef8826664d92021-08-07T16:33:12ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552021-07-0111710.1136/bmjopen-2020-042969Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional studyEdna Adan Ismail0Emily R Smith1Henry E Rice2Tessa Concepcion3Shukri Dahir4Mubarak Mohamed5Cesia F Cotache-Condor6Katelyn Moody7John Will8Edna Adan Hospital, Hargeisa, SomaliaDepartment of Public Health, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USADuke University Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USADuke University Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USAEdna Adan University Hospital, Hargeisa, SomaliaEdna Adan University Hospital, Hargeisa, SomaliaDepartment of Public Health, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USADepartment of Public Health, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USACenter for Spatial Research, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USABackground The global burden of disease in children is large and disproportionally affects low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Geospatial analysis offers powerful tools to quantify and visualise disparities in surgical care in LMICs. Our study aims to analyse the geographical distribution of paediatric surgical conditions and to evaluate the geographical access to surgical care in Somaliland.Methods Using the Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need survey and a combined survey from the WHO’s (WHO) Surgical Assessment Tool—Hospital Walkthrough and the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery Global Assessment in Paediatric Surgery, we collected data on surgical burden and access from 1503 children and 15 hospitals across Somaliland. We used several geospatial tools, including hotspot analysis, service area analysis, Voronoi diagrams, and Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation to estimate the geographical distribution of paediatric surgical conditions and access to care across Somaliland.Results Our analysis suggests less than 10% of children have timely access to care across Somaliland. Patients could travel up to 12 hours by public transportation and more than 2 days by foot to reach surgical care. There are wide geographical disparities in the prevalence of paediatric surgical conditions and access to surgical care across regions. Disparities are greater among children travelling by foot and living in rural areas, where the delay to receive surgery often exceeds 3 years. Overall, Sahil and Sool were the regions that combined the highest need and the poorest surgical care coverage.Conclusion Our study demonstrated wide disparities in the distribution of surgical disease and access to surgical care for children across Somaliland. Geospatial analysis offers powerful tools to identify critical areas and strategically allocate resources and interventions to efficiently scale-up surgical care for children in Somaliland.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e042969.full |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Edna Adan Ismail Emily R Smith Henry E Rice Tessa Concepcion Shukri Dahir Mubarak Mohamed Cesia F Cotache-Condor Katelyn Moody John Will |
spellingShingle |
Edna Adan Ismail Emily R Smith Henry E Rice Tessa Concepcion Shukri Dahir Mubarak Mohamed Cesia F Cotache-Condor Katelyn Moody John Will Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study BMJ Open |
author_facet |
Edna Adan Ismail Emily R Smith Henry E Rice Tessa Concepcion Shukri Dahir Mubarak Mohamed Cesia F Cotache-Condor Katelyn Moody John Will |
author_sort |
Edna Adan Ismail |
title |
Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study |
title_short |
Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study |
title_full |
Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study |
title_fullStr |
Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study |
title_sort |
geospatial analysis of pediatric surgical need and geographical access to care in somaliland: a cross-sectional study |
publisher |
BMJ Publishing Group |
series |
BMJ Open |
issn |
2044-6055 |
publishDate |
2021-07-01 |
description |
Background The global burden of disease in children is large and disproportionally affects low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Geospatial analysis offers powerful tools to quantify and visualise disparities in surgical care in LMICs. Our study aims to analyse the geographical distribution of paediatric surgical conditions and to evaluate the geographical access to surgical care in Somaliland.Methods Using the Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need survey and a combined survey from the WHO’s (WHO) Surgical Assessment Tool—Hospital Walkthrough and the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery Global Assessment in Paediatric Surgery, we collected data on surgical burden and access from 1503 children and 15 hospitals across Somaliland. We used several geospatial tools, including hotspot analysis, service area analysis, Voronoi diagrams, and Inverse Distance Weighted interpolation to estimate the geographical distribution of paediatric surgical conditions and access to care across Somaliland.Results Our analysis suggests less than 10% of children have timely access to care across Somaliland. Patients could travel up to 12 hours by public transportation and more than 2 days by foot to reach surgical care. There are wide geographical disparities in the prevalence of paediatric surgical conditions and access to surgical care across regions. Disparities are greater among children travelling by foot and living in rural areas, where the delay to receive surgery often exceeds 3 years. Overall, Sahil and Sool were the regions that combined the highest need and the poorest surgical care coverage.Conclusion Our study demonstrated wide disparities in the distribution of surgical disease and access to surgical care for children across Somaliland. Geospatial analysis offers powerful tools to identify critical areas and strategically allocate resources and interventions to efficiently scale-up surgical care for children in Somaliland. |
url |
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/7/e042969.full |
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