Unmet Surgical Need among Adults in A Mixed Urban-Rural Community in Nigeria: A Survey of 1,993 Adults Using the Sosas Survey Tool.

INTRODUCTION:Community-based prevalence studies are known to be more accurate than hospital-based records. However, such community-based prevalence studies are uncommon in low- and middle-income countries including Nigeria. Allocation of resources and prioritization of health care needs by policy makers require data from such community-based studies to be meaningful and sustainable. This study aims to assess the prevalence of common surgical conditions amongst adults in Nigeria. METHODS:A descriptive cross-sectional community-based study to determine the prevalence of congenital and acquired surgical conditions in adults in a mixed rural-urban area of Lagos was conducted. The study population comprised resident members in the Ikorodu Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State. Data was collected using a modified version of the interviewer-administered questionnaire, the Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) survey tool. Data was analysed using the REDCap analytic tool. RESULTS:Eight hundred and fifty-six households were surveyed with a yield of 1,992 adults. There were 95 adults who complained of surgical conditions giving a prevalence rate of 5%. Vast majority of reported conditions were acquired deformities (n=94) while only 1 congenital deformity was reported. Others included breast lumps, anterior neck swelling, and groin swellings. CONCLUSION:The most common surgical complaints in our setting among adults were acquired conditions of the extremities and open wounds/sores. With an estimated population of 90 million adults and approximately 1,200 orthopaedic and general surgeons respectively, the surgeon-to-affected population ratio is 1:10,000. There is a large gap to be filled in terms of surgical manpower development.