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The Importance of Contextual Relevance and Cultural Appropriateness in Global Surgery

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Global Surgery

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Abstract

Global health and global surgery have made unprecedented progress in the past decade, and global surgery is now recognized as a critical component of academic surgery. With this new development, however, comes the added responsibility of ensuring that surgeons are adequately prepared to take on the challenges of participating in diverse healthcare systems around the world. There is a significant distinction between global and international health that directly informs the conversation about global surgery. While international health is defined as health issues on foreign soil, global health deals with health issues that are collectively seen across the world. As borders continue to become more porous and the demographics of different countries change, we can no longer neatly categorize health issues. There is a significant rise in noncommunicable diseases in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) and an increase in infectious diseases in high- and middle-income countries that necessitate surgical intervention. Global surgery is affected by all of these various dynamics, and it is more important than ever that the complexity of these issues be adequately addressed by attention to the contextual relevance and cultural appropriateness, not only in surgical residency but throughout a surgical career. This is particularly necessary for surgeons who plan to work in underserved areas, both at home and abroad.

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Acknowledgement

Box examples graciously provided by Drs. Abhay and Rani Bang, Dr. Holly Muir and Dr. Detlev Erdmann.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Ariadne Labs, 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Janaka A. Lagoo MD

  2. Duke University, Department of Surgery, Erwin Road, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Sandhya A. Lagoo-Deenadayalan MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Janaka A. Lagoo MD
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  2. Sandhya A. Lagoo-Deenadayalan MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Janaka A. Lagoo MD or Sandhya A. Lagoo-Deenadayalan MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Anne Arundel Health System, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Annapolis, Maryland, USA

    Adrian Park

  2. Department of Surgery, Center for Global Surgery, Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, Division of Public Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Raymond Price

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Lagoo, J.A., Lagoo-Deenadayalan, S.A. (2017). The Importance of Contextual Relevance and Cultural Appropriateness in Global Surgery. In: Park, A., Price, R. (eds) Global Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49482-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49482-1_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49480-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49482-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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