Moving from data collection to application: a systematic literature review of surgical capacity assessments and their applications.

Background: Over the past decade, assessments of surgical capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have contributed to our understanding of barriers to the delivery of surgical services in a number of countries. It is yet unclear, however, how the findings of these assessments have been applied and built upon within the published literature.

Methods: A systematic literature review of surgical capacity assessments in LMICs was performed to evaluate current levels of understanding of global surgical capacity and to identify areas for future study.

Female health and family planning in Sierra Leone.

Objective: To describe the current status of access to maternal care, family planning use, and place of delivery in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world with one of the highest maternal mortality rates.

Methods: Data from the Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need, a cross-sectional two-stage cluster-based household survey conducted in Sierra Leone in 2012, were analyzed to determine access to maternal care, family planning use, and location of delivery.

Results: Of 3,318 females of reproductive age (12-50 years of age), 1,205 participants were interviewed in depth.

Admission test as precursor of perinatal outcome: a prospective study.

Purpose: To test the reliability of the admission test to identify the compromised fetus and thus reduce the neonatal morbidity and mortality by early intervention.

Methods: A prospective analysis over a period of 1 year from December 2007 to December 2008 included 100 antepartum patients and were evaluated for perinatal outcome in two groups.

Results: In both low and high risk groups the incidence of meconium staining was 25 and 37.