Lack of access to surgical care leads to high mortality and morbidity due to surgically treatable conditions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In the past few years, several countries have carried out high-resolution subnational mapping of their surgical care indicators to be able to assess the needs and inform their national surgery, obstetric, anesthesia plan (NSOAP). India, the largest lower-middle income-country and democracy globally, does not have a subnational assessment of its surgical care indicators and therefore no NOASP. This project works towards filling this gap, particularly focusing on rural India. Two-thirds of the Indians reside in rural regions and their healthcare has been neglected historically under colonial rule and due to developmental challenges. The main aims are to:

1. Synthesize national, state, and district estimates for surgical care indicators for India,
2. Assess geographical variations in surgical care access for states and districts,
3. Introduce a new composite indices for measuring surgical access, rural surgical capacity, and blood banking  to aide communication with policymakers and improve political accountability,
4. Explore association between surgical access and sustainable development.

The project involves secondary analysis of data from several different sources and employs a diverse geospatial and statistical toolbox. For India, these will be the first such nationwide findings that can direct the development of NSOAP.

Start Date: 07/01/2020
End Date: 06/30/2023

Main Topic

Global surgery, Data Science