Operation Walk: The Ethics of Global Surgery and Health

On a recent humanitarian trip to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, our Operation Walk team leaders were introduced to a local orthopaedic surgeon. While he expressed interest in our global surgery efforts, it was later divulged to us that he found the brigade unnecessary, that each arthroplasty done by the foreign missionaries takes away from his surgical opportunities. His concerns are not unfounded as evidenced by the abundance of literature regarding the ethics of global surgery/global health. Despite the humanitarian aid worker ’s (HAW) best intentions, unfortunately, there are often unintended consequences as local providers may be devalued, there may be a lack of continuity of care, and a dependence of the local community on the HAW can be created.
Source: The Journal of Arthroplasty - Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research