No frugal innovation without frugal evaluation: the Global IDEAL Sub-Framework.

Objective: The Global IDEAL Sub-Framework Study aimed to combine the intended effects of the 2009/2019 IDEAL (Idea, Development, Exploration, Assessment, Long-term study) Framework recommendations on evaluating surgical innovation with the vision outlined by the 2015 Lancet Commission on Global Surgery to provide recommendations for evaluating surgical innovation in low-resource environments.

Design: A mixture of methods including an online global survey and semistructured interviews (SSIs). Quantitative data were summarized with descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed using the Framework Method.

There is a great variety of orthopaedic conditions presenting to a large hospital in Sierra Leone: a 3-year prospective study.

Purpose: In Sierra Leone there is a large void in orthopaedic research into the type of orthopaedic injuries, both acute and chronic. Improved data collection is essential in providing insight to guide health care planning and research. This study aims to outline the types of orthopaedic injury sustained.

Changes in surgical volume, workforce, and productivity in Sierra Leone between 2012 and 2017.

Background: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery recommends a minimum of 20 surgical specialists and 5,000 annual operations per 100,000 population by 2030. In 2012, Sierra Leone was far from reaching these targets. This study aimed to assess the changes in surgical activity, surgical workforce, and surgical productivity between 2012 and 2017.

The burden of trauma presenting to the government referral hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone: An observational study.

Introduction: Trauma accounts for a significant proportion of the global burden of disease, with highest mortality rates seen in Africa. This epidemic is predicted to increase with urbanisation and an aim of the Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce deaths and trauma caused by road accidents. Data available on urban trauma in Sierra Leone is limited.

Comparison of surgical skill acquisition by UK surgical trainees and Sierra Leonean associate clinicians in a task-sharing programme.

Background: Task-sharing in surgery is well established, with associate clinicians performing successful surgery in many countries. Little is known about the process of surgical skill acquisition by associate clinicians, or whether this differs from that of doctors.

Methods: A blinded experimental study compared surgical skill acquisition by Sierra Leonean associate clinicians enrolled in an essential and emergency surgery training programme with that of a matched group of UK surgical trainees.