Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-12-2024

Comments

This article is the author's final published version in Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology, June 2024, Volume 9, Issue 3, Article number e1278.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.1278. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Triological Society.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe findings from an otolaryngology-specific needs assessment tool in Zimbabwe.

METHODS: Surveys were developed and shared with Low-Middle Income Country (LMIC) hosting institutions in Zimbabwe and to High-Income Country surgical trip participants (HIC). Respondents were otolaryngologists identified online and through professional networks who had participated in a surgical trip.

RESULTS: The most common procedures Zimbabwe otolaryngologists reported treating were adenotonsillectomy (85.7%), chronic rhinosinusitis (71.4%), chronic otitis (57.1%), and head and neck tumor intervention (57.1%). The most common untreatable conditions that host physicians wanted to treat were skull base surgery (71.4%), flap reconstructions (57.1%), and laryngotracheal reconstruction (57.1%). The largest discrepancy between host desires and visiting team offerings were flap reconstruction (57.1%), nasal bone deformities (37.1%), and laryngotracheal reconstruction (17.1%). Perceptions of short-term surgical trips (STST) were recorded for host and visiting teams, and important differences between the public and private sectors of care in Zimbabwe were also identified.

CONCLUSION: The surveys utilized in this study served as a bidirectional needs assessment of the requirements and care goals of host institutions and visiting teams in Zimbabwe. Differences between public and private sectors of care, particularly regarding infrastructure, resources, and surgical goals, were revealed, and the results can be utilized as part of efforts to maximize efforts within global surgical partnerships.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: VI.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Appendix S1. Supporting information..pdf (80 kB)
Appendix S1. Supporting information.

Appendix S2. Supporting information..pdf (81 kB)
Appendix S2. Supporting information.

Language

English

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