Indus Health Network, Karachi, Pakistan.
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
East Mediterr Health J. 2022 Apr 28;28(4):302-313. doi: 10.26719/emhj.22.009.
Very little is known about the state of surgical, anaesthesia and obstetric care in Pakistan.
This study aimed to assess the literature available on surgical, anaesthesia and obstetric care in Pakistan to understand the strengths and weaknesses of this care based on the domains of the framework of national surgical obstetric anaesthesia plans, namely: infrastructure, workforce, service delivery, information management, governance and service delivery.
Relevant studies in English published between 2003 and 2018 were identified by searching electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus. Searches of the grey literature were also done for documents of various organizations. Thematic content analysis was conducted to collate, summarize and analyse the data.
A total of 2347 studies were identified and screened, of which 57 articles met the inclusion criteria. While national-level surveys, reviews and policy documents provided an understanding of the existing surgical, anaesthesia and obstetric care services in the country, most of the studies were limited in their scope and therefore were not representative of the situation at the national level. In terms of surgical, anaesthesia and obstetric care, the health care infrastructure, availability of services, workforce, financial protection, information management and governance frameworks have failed to develop at the same pace as the needs of the ever-growing population in Pakistan.
Our findings can be used to guide future research activities as part of efforts to strengthen the surgical system in Pakistan. Recent government initiatives hold promise for future improvement in access to surgical care.
关于巴基斯坦外科、麻醉和产科护理的状况，我们知之甚少。
本研究旨在评估巴基斯坦外科、麻醉和产科护理相关文献，以了解基于国家外科产科麻醉计划框架的各领域（基础设施、劳动力、服务提供、信息管理、治理和服务提供）下该护理的优势和劣势。
通过检索电子数据库（包括 PubMed/MEDLINE、EMBASE 和 Scopus），确定了 2003 年至 2018 年间发表的英文相关研究。还对各种组织的灰色文献进行了检索。采用主题内容分析法对数据进行整理、总结和分析。
共确定并筛选了 2347 项研究，其中 57 篇文章符合纳入标准。虽然国家层面的调查、综述和政策文件提供了对该国现有外科、麻醉和产科护理服务的了解，但大多数研究的范围有限，因此不能代表全国的情况。在外科、麻醉和产科护理方面，医疗保健基础设施、服务的提供、劳动力、财务保障、信息管理和治理框架的发展未能跟上巴基斯坦不断增长的人口的需求。
我们的研究结果可用于指导未来的研究活动，作为加强巴基斯坦外科系统的努力的一部分。最近的政府举措有望改善获得外科护理的机会。
