From Short-term Surgical Missions Towards Sustainable Partnerships. A Survey Among Members of Foreign Teams
Conditions: Global Surgery, Medical Missions
Sponsor: Global Surgery Amsterdam

Study protocol 
 
 
 
Title:   
 
 
From short-term surgical missions towards sustainable partnerships 
A survey among members of foreign teams and local doctors 
involved in surgical missions. 
 
Study Protocol number:  
2019-05 
 
Date of protocol approval: 
May 15th 2019, by the board of Global Surgery Amsterdam 
 
Study type: 
 
 
Survey 
 
 
 
 
The content of the survey is provided below in this study protocol 
 
Initiating organization:  
Global Surgery Amsterdam (GSA) 
www.globalsurgeryamsterdam.com 
 
Collaborating organization: 
ICOPLAST  
 
 
 
 
www.icoplast.org 
 
 
General information: 
Particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), surgical 
missions are conducted on a large scale to provide surgical care. 
Annually, an estimated 313 million US dollars is spent on surgical 
missions. Typical missions are short-term, lasting up to several weeks.  
However, currently we know very little about the actual impact of 
these missions, including patient outcomes and strategies to make 
missions more sustainable. 
Therefore we developed an online survey. It is a first step in 
identifying what is currently being done and what should be done 
according to the respondent’s experiences. The answers are used to 
provide more clarity on today's practices of short-term missions and 
to provide recommendations for the future. 
The survey consists of 21 questions.  
Outcomes will be anonymized. 
 
Participants: 
Members of foreign teams and local doctors involved in surgical 
missions. 
 
Start of distribution: 
 
June 2019, by email within the network of GSA and ICOPLAST  
 
End of enrollment: 
 
October 2019 
 
Ethical clearance: 
 
Not required for this study type 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
A survey for international and local team members involved in surgical missions in LMICs.  
Developed by ICOPLAST and Global Surgery Amsterdam 
www.icoplast.org 
www.globalsurgeryamsterdam.com 
 
Background: 
We all aim for improving outcomes of our patients all around the globe. Many of our patients 
suffer from conditions that can be treated with (reconstructive) surgery. Particularly in low- and 
middle-income countries, surgical missions are conducted on a large scale to provide this type 
of care. Annually, an estimated 313 million US dollars is spent on surgical missions. Typical 
missions are short-term, lasting up to several weeks.  
 
However, currently we know very little about the actual impact of these missions, including 
patient outcomes and future strategies (Hendriks et al., 2019).  
 
Therefore we developed this questionnaire. It is a first step in identifying what is currently 
being done and what should be done, according to your valuable experiences in the field. Your 
data is used to provide more clarity on today's practices of short-term missions.  
 
The questionnaire consists of 21 questions. Please select one answer, and further clarify in 
the comment box if applicable. 
 
Note: we may ask additional questions in the future if you approve us to contact you.  
Outcomes will be anonymized.