Dear HIFA and HIFA-Zambia colleagues,
The surgical safety checklist (SSC) has been shown to be highly effective but this study from Zambia suggests that some senior surgeons have negative attitudes towards it, so that it is not always implemented. The full text suggests many contributing factors, including lack of staffing and perceived time burden of completing the check. Would HIFA-Zambia members like to comment, and do wider HIFA members have experience in other countries?
CITATION: Munthali, J.; Pittalis, C.; Bijlmakers, L.; Kachimba, J.; Cheelo, M.; Brugha, R.; Gajewski, J.
Barriers and enablers to utilisation of the WHO surgical safety checklist at the university teaching hospital in Lusaka, Zambia: a qualitative study.
BMC Health Services Research; 2022. 22(894):(09 July 2022).
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-022-0...
ABSTRACT
Background: Surgical perioperative deaths and major complications are important contributors to preventable morbidity, globally and in sub-Saharan Africa. The surgical safety checklist (SSC) was developed by WHO to reduce surgical deaths and complications, by utilising a team approach and a series of steps to ensure the safe transit of a patient through the surgical operation. This study explored barriers and enablers to the utilisation of the Checklist at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia.
Methods: A qualitative case study was conducted involving members of surgical teams (doctors, anaesthesia providers, nurses and support staff) from the UTH surgical departments.
Results: Analysis revealed variability in implementation of the SSC by surgical teams, which stemmed from lack of senior surgeon ownership of the initiative, when the SSC was introduced at UTH 5 years earlier. Low utilisation was also linked to factors such as: negative attitudes towards it, the hierarchical structure of surgical teams, lack of support for the SSC among senior surgeons and poor teamwork. Further determinants included: lack of training opportunities, lack of leadership and erratic availability of resources. Interviewees proposed the following strategies for improving SSC utilisation: periodic training, refresher courses, monitoring of use, local adaptation, mobilising the support of senior surgeons and improvement in functionality of the surgical teams.
Conclusion: The SSC has the potential to benefit patients; however, its utilisation at the UTH has been patchy, at best. Its full benefits will only be achieved if senior surgeons are committed and managers allocate resources to its implementation. The study points more broadly to the factors that influence or obstruct the introduction and effective implementation of new quality of care initiatives.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
