Peer-reviewed article
Enablers of Sustainable Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery: A Qualitative Exploration of Global Neurosurgery.
Rya Muller, Omolabake Oyetayo, Emmanuel Wegoye, David Bieber, Shadrack Khisa et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5This study looked at how a program to provide epilepsy surgery to children in Uganda was set up and run. Researchers interviewed nine health workers involved in a partnership between a Ugandan hospital and a US children's hospital. The interviews identified factors that help such programs succeed, including careful planning, teamwork across countries, and training local staff. The study does not measure outcomes for children who had surgery, but focuses on how to build lasting surgical programs in low-resource settings.
Key points
- Up to 10 million people with drug-resistant epilepsy globally could benefit from surgery, but few programs exist in low- and middle-income countries.
- A collaboration between CURE Uganda and a US children's hospital created a pediatric epilepsy surgery program starting in 2019.
- Nine interdisciplinary health workers were interviewed about program development from 2019 to 2024.
- Four themes were identified: intentional planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, skill transfer and education, and future targets.
- Trust, communication, and bidirectional skill transfer were seen as key to making such surgical programs sustainable.
Limitations
The study only reflects the views of nine program staff and does not measure surgical outcomes or benefits for the children treated.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Of 50 million people with epilepsy globally, up to 10 million with lesional drug resistance epilepsy may be able to achieve seizure control with surgical options. Although multidisciplinary surgical care for epilepsy is available in high-income countries, few programs exist in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2019, a global collaboration between CURE Uganda and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in the United States established a surgical epilepsy program in Uganda for the pediatric population. This study identifies key pillars for sustainable neurosurgical program development in LMICs. METHODS: Interdisciplinary health care providers from CURE and Lurie Children's who participated in the development of the surgical epilepsy program from 2019 to 2024 underwent semistructured qualitative interviews. A thematic analysis framework was used to identify themes from interviews related to program development, sustainability, and targets for future work. RESULTS: Nine participants were interviewed, with representation from roles of pediatric neurologist, pediatric neuroradiologist, electroencephalogram technologists, medical officer, and pediatric neurosurgeon. Thematic analysis revealed 4 themes (with subthemes) related to sustainable global surgical program development: (1) Intentional planning (integrating global policies into program development, rigorous case selection for great outcomes to build confidence for public/administrative support, defining barriers and optimizing solutions); (2) interdisciplinary collaboration (communication and trust are vital, new initiatives may require sacrifice, true partnerships allow for bidirectional learning, creative problem solving is crucial); (3) skill transfer and education (on-the-ground skill transfer needed, technology integration facilitates continuous learning, enable development opportunities for teammates); and (4) targets for future work (public education, expanding clinical capacity in LMICs, sustainable education centers, research dissemination). CONCLUSION: Global collaborations create opportunities to increase access to neurosurgical care. Creating interdisciplinary programs across borders requires trust and open communication by all members. Sustainable programs can be further enabled with intentional planning, humility, and bidirectional skill transfer.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- A global partnership between a Ugandan hospital (CURE) and a US children's hospital (Lurie Children's) to establish a pediatric epilepsy surgery program.
- Population
- Interdisciplinary health care providers (pediatric neurologists, neuroradiologists, EEG technologists, medical officers, neurosurgeons) involved in the Uganda program from 2019-2024
Key finding
Four key themes for sustainable program development were identified: intentional planning, interdisciplinary collaboration, skill transfer/education, and future targets.
Muller et al. · OpenAlex · 22 Sept 2026