Prevalence of Untreated Surgical Conditions in Rural Rwanda: A Population-Based Cross-sectional Study in Burera District.

Importance: In low- and middle-income countries, community-level surgical epidemiology is largely undefined. Accurate community-level surgical epidemiology is necessary for surgical health systems planning.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of surgical conditions in Burera District, Northern Province, Rwanda.

Validation of a community-based survey assessing nonobstetric surgical conditions in Burera District, Rwanda.

Background: Validated, community-based surveillance methods to monitor epidemiologic progress in surgery have not yet been employed for surgical capacity building. The goal of this study was to create and assess the validity of a community-based questionnaire collecting data on untreated surgically correctable disease throughout Burera District, Rwanda, to accurately plan for surgical services at a district hospital.

Methods: A structured interview to assess for 10 index surgically treatable conditions was created and underwent local focus group and pilot testing.

Epidemiology of untreated non-obstetric surgical disease in Burera District, Rwanda: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: In low-income and middle-income countries, surgical epidemiology is largely undefined at the population level, with operative logs and hospital records serving as a proxy. This study assesses the distribution of surgical conditions that contribute the largest burden of surgical disease in Burera District, in northern Rwanda. We hypothesise that our results would yield higher rates of surgical disease than current estimates (from 2006) for similar low-income countries, which are 295 per 100 000 people.

Validation of a community-based survey assessing non-obstetric surgical conditions in Burera District, Rwanda.

Background: Community-based surveillance methods to monitor epidemiological progress in surgery have not yet been employed for surgical capacity building. The aim of this study was to create and assess the validity of a questionnaire that collected data for untreated surgically correctable diseases throughout Burera District, northern Rwanda, to accurately plan for surgical services.

Methods: A structured interview to assess for the presence or absence of ten index surgically treatable conditions (breast mass, cleft lip/palate, club foot, hernia or hydrocele [adult and paediatric]), hydrocephalus, hypospadias, injuries or wounds, neck mass, undescended testes, and vaginal fistula) was created.

Estimating pediatric surgical need in developing countries: a household survey in Rwanda.

Purpose: Surgical services for children are often absent in resource-limited settings. Identifying the prevalence of surgical disease at the community level is important for developing evidence-based pediatric surgical services and training. We hypothesize that the untreated surgical conditions in the pediatric population are largely uncharacterized and that such burden is significant and poorly understood.

Injury, disability and access to care in Rwanda: results of a nationwide cross-sectional population study.

Background: Disparities in access to quality injury care are a growing concern worldwide, with over 90 % of global injury-related morbidity and mortality occurring in low-income countries. We describe the use of a survey tool that evaluates the prevalence of surgical conditions at the population level, with a focus on the burden of traumatic injuries, subsequent disabilities, and barriers to injury care in Rwanda.

Methods: The Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) tool is a cross-sectional, cluster-based population survey designed to measure conditions that may necessitate surgical consultation or intervention.

Estimating operative disease prevalence in a low-income country: results of a nationwide population survey in Rwanda.

Background: Operative disease is estimated to contribute to 11% of the global burden of disease, but no studies have correlated this figure to operative burden at the community level. We describe a survey tool that evaluates population-based prevalence of operative conditions and its first full-country implementation in Rwanda.

Methods: The Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) survey tool is a cross-sectional, cluster-based population survey designed to measure conditions that may necessitate an operative consultation or intervention.

Prevalence and predictors of giving birth in health facilities in Bugesera District, Rwanda.

Background: The proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel is one of two indicators used to measure progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5, which aims for a 75% reduction in global maternal mortality ratios by 2015. Rwanda has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, estimated between 249-584 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The objectives of this study were to quantify secular trends in health facility delivery and to identify factors that affect the uptake of intrapartum healthcare services among women living in rural villages in Bugesera District, Eastern Province, Rwanda.