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Pilot Testing of a Population-based Surgical Survey Tool in Sierra Leone

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Abstract

Background

The prevalence of surgical diseases in low income countries is thought to be very large, but to date no population-based survey has documented the need. The Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) is a survey tool programmed for use with iPads to measure the prevalence of surgical conditions.

Methods

To assess the appropriateness and utility of SOSAS, a pilot test was undertaken in Sierra Leone. Local medical students were trained in sampling, interviewing, and SOSAS specifics. Five clusters of 10 households were randomly selected and 100 individuals were interviewed. Problems with the tool, iPad use, and respondent answers were collected. Daily debriefings with the enumerators aimed to identify problems and ways for improvement.

Results

Administering SOSAS via iPads was found to be easy and facilitated data entry. Quick analysis of the data allowed for rapid feedback. Although the survey has 450 possible data entry points, by using conditional formatting, the enumerators were able to collect household demographics and interview two randomly selected household members in an average of 25 min. The survey methodology was acceptable, with a response rate of 96%. Five major sections were amended after the pilot.

Discussion

Pilot testing of SOSAS showed that a population-based survey measuring the prevalence of surgical disease could be undertaken in a low income country. It is recommended that SOSAS be used with a larger sample size to calculate the prevalence of surgical disease in low income countries.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Andrew A. Kamara, Andrew B. Johnney, and Prince Williams of Statistics Sierra Leone for sharing their expertise in surveying in Sierra Leone. They also acknowledge Michael M. Kamara and Lucina Bockarie for their critical contributions as enumerators for the pilot. Finally, the authors acknowledge the substantial contribution of Shahrzad Joharifard, who helped with the initial programming of the survey for iPad use.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors is funded for their contribution. Surgeons OverSeas (SOS) assisted the logistics and payment of enumerators and transportation with funding from private contributions. MOHS contributed with local transportation and administrative assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Reinou S. Groen

  2. Surgeons OverSeas (SOS), 225 East 6th Street, Suite 7F, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Reinou S. Groen, T. Peter Kingham & Adam L. Kushner

  3. College of Medicine and Allied Health Science (COMAHS), Connaught Hospital Lightfoot Boston Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone

    Mohamed Samai

  4. Department of Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Robin T. Petroze & James F. Calland

  5. Department of Surgery, Connaught Hospital Lightfoot Boston Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone

    Thaim B. Kamara

  6. Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL), A. J. Momoh Street, Tower Hill, P.M. Bag 595, Freetown, Sierra Leone

    Sahr E. Yambasu

  7. Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    T. Peter Kingham

  8. Department of Public Health Sciences, and Center for Survey Research, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Thomas M. Guterbock

  9. School of Nursing, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Barbara Choo

  10. Department of Surgery, Columbia University, 177 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Adam L. Kushner

Authors
  1. Reinou S. Groen
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  2. Mohamed Samai
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  3. Robin T. Petroze
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  4. Thaim B. Kamara
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  5. Sahr E. Yambasu
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  6. James F. Calland
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  7. T. Peter Kingham
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  8. Thomas M. Guterbock
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  9. Barbara Choo
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  10. Adam L. Kushner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reinou S. Groen.

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Groen, R.S., Samai, M., Petroze, R.T. et al. Pilot Testing of a Population-based Surgical Survey Tool in Sierra Leone. World J Surg 36, 771–774 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-012-1448-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-012-1448-9

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