Collaboration in Outreach: The Kumasi, Ghana, Model

Brittany J Behar; Oheneba Owusu Danso; Boutros Farhat; Vincent Ativor; Joshua Abzug; Donald H Lalonde

doi:10.1016/j.hcl.2019.07.009

Collaboration in Outreach: The Kumasi, Ghana, Model

Hand Clin. 2019 Nov;35(4):429-434. doi: 10.1016/j.hcl.2019.07.009.

Authors

Brittany J Behar¹, Oheneba Owusu Danso², Boutros Farhat², Vincent Ativor², Joshua Abzug³, Donald H Lalonde⁴

Affiliations

¹ Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3737 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
² Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, PO Box 1934, Kumasi, Ghana.
³ Department of Orthopedics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, One Texas Station Court, Suite 300, Timonium, MD 21093 USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, One Texas Station Court, Suite 300, Timonium, MD 21093 USA.
⁴ Dalhousie University, 600 Main Street Suite C204, Saint John, New Brunswick E2K 1J5, Canada. Electronic address: dlalonde@drlalonde.ca.

PMID: 31585603
DOI: 10.1016/j.hcl.2019.07.009

Abstract

Hand surgery does not have to be expensive. Substituting evidence-based field sterility for main operating room sterility and using wide-awake, local anesthesia, no tourniquet (WALANT) surgery instead of sedation makes hand surgery much more affordable worldwide. This article explains how North Americans collaborated with Ghanaian hand surgeons and therapists to establish more affordable hand care in Kumasi. It describes how multiple nonprofit organizations collaborate to create trans-Atlantic Webinars and a reverse fellowship program to share hand surgery and therapy knowledge between North American and Ghanaian hand care providers.

Keywords: Cultural competency; Field sterility; Global surgery; Surgery mission; Surgical outreach; WALANT; Wide-awake hand surgery.

MeSH terms

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures
Fellowships and Scholarships
Ghana
Humans
International Cooperation*
International Educational Exchange
Orthopedics / education
Orthopedics / organization & administration*
Physical Therapy Specialty
Societies, Medical
Surgical Wound Infection / prevention & control