History of Past, Current, and Future Global Orthopaedic Initiatives by a Canadian Centre.
Abstract
Purpose:
Canadian orthopaedic surgeons have been contributing to global orthopaedic initiatives for many years. These include projects aimed at supporting under-resourced communities through education, research, sustainable care, and global collaborations. The Orthopaedic Department at our Canadian institution is interested in assisting faculty members with their efforts to provide safe surgical care on a global scale; however, we lacked critical information. Specifically, we were unaware of how many faculty members were involved in global projects, the extent of global outreach in terms of countries reached, and the total number of initiatives being supported. To address these gaps, the Orthopaedic Department at our institution conducted a survey to gather information about the department's past and ongoing global orthopaedic initiatives, as well as any envisioned projects for the future.
Method:
A one-time, online survey was designed and administered through REDCap and was available for completion from July-August 2022 at one Canadian institution. The survey questions sought information about faculty members' participation in global orthopaedics. Data collected included: faculty’s past or current involvement in global initiatives, number and title of projects, countries reached, type of activities, and interest in future global initiatives.
Results:
Out of a total of 30 responses received, 12 faculty members indicated their involvement in past or ongoing global orthopaedic initiatives. Respondents primarily included orthopaedic surgeons (25/30, 83.3%), with the remainder being researchers. The number of projects each faculty member had been, or is currently involved in, ranges from one to 10, resulting in a total of 49 global project involvements among the 12 respondents. These projects reached 21 different countries across five continents (Fig. 1) and encompassed various activities such as teaching, mentorship, resident or fellowship exchange, surgical missions, research, and clinical projects.
Conclusion:
The survey revealed a significant level of engagement in global orthopaedic activities within one orthopaedic department at a Canadian institution. Now that more clarity exists around global orthopaedic reach at an institutional level, this survey can extend to other institutions to assess global orthopaedic efforts across Canada. Inspired by these survey responses, our department is launching a Global Orthopaedic program designed to centralize and support all global health initiatives under the department's umbrella. This initiative will provide faculty members with the necessary support, including funding, coordination, and project execution assistance, to maximize the impact of their global health efforts.