A systematic review of capacity assessment tools in pediatric surgery: Global Assessment in Pediatric Surgery (GAPS) Phase I

Background: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery highlighted global surgical need but offered little insight into the specific surgical challenges of children in low-resource settings. Efforts to strengthen the quality of global pediatric surgical care have resulted in a proliferation of partnerships between low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). Standardized tools able to reliably measure gaps in delivery and quality of care are important aids for these partnerships. We undertook a systematic review (SR) of capacity assessment tools (CATs) focused on needs assessment in pediatric surgery. Methods: A comprehensive search strategy of multiple electronic databases was conducted per PRISMA guidelines without linguistic or temporal restrictions. CATs were selected according to pre-defined inclusion criteria. Articles were assessed by two independent reviewers. Methodological quality of studies was appraised using the COSMIN checklist with 4-point scale. Results: The search strategy generated 16,641 original publications, of which three CATs were deemed eligible. Eligible tools were either excessively detailed or oversimplified. None used weighted scores to identify finer granularity between institutions. No CATs comprehensively included measures of resources, outcomes, accessibility/impact and training. Discussion: The results of this study identify the need for a CAT capable of objectively measuring key aspects of surgical capacity and performance in a weighted tool designed for pediatric surgical centers in LMICs. Type of Study: Systematic Review. Level of Evidence: II.