Research Articles (Centre for Global Surgery)

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Browsing Research Articles (Centre for Global Surgery) by Author "Dell, Angela J."

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    A geospatial analysis of two-hour surgical access to district hospitals in South Africa
    (BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2020-08-13) Chu, Kathryn M.; Dell, Angela J.; Moultrie, Harry; Day, Candy; Naidoo, Megan; Van Straten, Stephanie; Rayne, Sarah
    Background: In a robust health care system, at least 80% of a country’s population should be able to access a district hospital that provides surgical care within 2 hours. The objective was to identify the proportion of the population living within 2 hours of a district hospital with surgical capacity in South Africa. Methods: All government hospitals in the country were identified. Surgical district hospitals were defined as district hospitals with a surgical provider, a functional operating theatre, and the provision of at least one caesarean section annually. The proportion of the population within two-hour access was estimated using service area methods. Results: Ninety-eight percent of the population had two-hour access to any government hospital in South Africa. One hundred and thirty-eight of 240 (58%) district hospitals had surgical capacity and 86% of the population had two-hour access to these facilities. Conclusion: Improving equitable surgical access is urgently needed in sub-Saharan Africa. This study demonstrated that in South Africa, just over half of district hospitals had surgical capacity but more than 80% of the population had two-hour access to these facilities. Strengthening district hospital surgical capacity is an international mandate and needed to improve access.