142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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302684
Surgery and anesthesia in global public health: A multi-institutional and multi-national advocay campaign

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 2:30 PM - 2:42 PM

Katie Wells, MD , Department of Surgery, The University of Utah Center for Global Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Salt Lake, UT
Raymond Price, MD , Department of Surgery, The University of Utah Center for Global Surgery, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake, UT
Adam Kushner, MD, MPH , Surgeons OverSeas, Columbia University, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, New York, NY
Kathleen Casey, MD , Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia Presence (ASAP), Salt, UT
John Meara, MD, DMD, MBA , Department of Plastic Surgery, Boston Childrens Hospital, Boston, MA
Fizan Abdullah, MD, PhD , Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Benedict Nwomeh, MD, MPH , Department of Pediatric Surgery, Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH
Scott Leckman, MD , Department of Surgery, The University of Utah Center for Global Surgery, Salt Lake, UT
Mark Harris, MD , Department of Anesthesia, The University of Utah Center for Global Surgery, Salt Lake, UT
Michael Hollands, MD , Department of Surgery, University of Sydney, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Background

Surgery is an essential component of a viable health system, yet 2 billion people worldwide lack access to surgical care. To date, the World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), has not adopted a resolution highlighting the importance of surgical care and anesthesia, which would be a vital first step to help save millions of lives and prevent disabilities for millions more.

Methods

A WHA resolution proposal was drafted and circulated among surgery and anesthesia leaders to help governments prioritize surgical and anesthesia care delivery within their health systems. Support for the draft was sought from national and international societies and organizations, along with international Ministry of Health (MOH) officials.

Results

United States and international surgical and anesthesia organizations supported a draft WHA resolution. Meetings were arranged with MOH officials, public health officials, political leaders, and WHA representatives in many countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Zambia, Mongolia, Armenia, Senegal, and Ecuador, in addition to a multi-institutional letter writing campaign conducted through a network of global surgery and anesthesia leaders worldwide.

Conclusion

In January 2014, Senegal submitted a formal request to the Executive Board of the WHA advocating for access to safe surgery and anesthesia, placing it on the agenda for the executive meeting in May of 2014, which will enable a resolution to be proposed. Continued broad based academic, public health, and international support is necessary for final passage of this WHA resolution.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the role surgical and anesthesia care plays in addressing the global burden of disease. Describe an international collaborative effort to have the World Health Organization recognize the lack of access to safe and high quality surgical care as a major global health disparity.Demonstrate the need for safe quality surgical care as a viable component of a robust health care system.

Keyword(s): Advocacy, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the lead writer of this abstract and participated in this advocacy campaign.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3369.0: Advocacy in Global Health