Determination of Visual Portfolio for Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Needs Nigeria Study: Consensus Generation through an e‑Delphi Process
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Date
2019
Authors
Alakoloko, FM
St-Louis, E
Ademuyiwa, AO
Poenaru, D
Bode, C
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wolters Kluwer
Abstract
Background: Surgery as a public health priority has received little attention until recently. There is a significant unmeasured and unmet burden of surgical illness in low‑ and middle‑income countries (LMICs). Our aim was to generate a consensus among expert pediatric surgeons practicing in LMICs regarding the spectrum of pediatric surgical conditions that we should look out for in a community‑based survey for Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Needs Nigeria study.
Materials and Methods: The Delphi methodology was utilized to identify sets of
variables from among a panel of experts. Each variable was scored on a 5‑point
Likert scale. The experts were provided with an anonymous summary of the
results after the first round. A consensus was achieved after two rounds, defined by
an improvement in the standard deviation (SD) of scores for a particular variable
over that of the previous round. We invited 76 pediatric surgeons through e‑mail
across Africa but predominantly from Nigeria. Results: Twenty‑one pediatric
surgeons gave consent to participate through return of mail. Thirteen (62%)
answered the first round statements and 8 (38%) the second round. In general, the
strength of agreement to all statements of the questionnaire improved between the
first and second rounds. Overall consensus, as expressed by the decrease in the
mean SD from 0.84 in the first round to 0.68 in the second round, also improved
over time. The strength of consensus improved for 23 (74%) of the statements.
The strength of consensus decreased for the remaining 8 (26%) of statements.
Out of the 31 consensus‑generating statements, 16 (51%) scored high agreement,
13 (42%) scored low agreement, and 2 (15%) scored perfect disagreement.
Conclusion: We have successfully identified the pediatric surgical conditions
to be included in any community survey of pediatric surgical need in an LMIC
setting.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
Delphi , Global surgery , Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Needs , Pediatric surgeons , Research Subject Categories::MEDICINE
Citation
Alakaloko FM, St-Louis E, Ademuyiwa AO, Poenaru D, Bode C. Determination of visual portfolio for surgeons OverSeas assessment of surgical needs Nigeria study: Consensus generation through an e-Delphi process. Niger J Surg 2019;25:30-5.