Pilot testing of a population-based surgical survey tool in Sierra Leone.
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of surgical diseases in low income countries is thought to be very large, but to date no population-based survey has documented the need. The Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical Need (SOSAS) is a survey tool programmed for use with iPads to measure the prevalence of surgical conditions.


METHODS
To assess the appropriateness and utility of SOSAS, a pilot test was undertaken in Sierra Leone. Local medical students were trained in sampling, interviewing, and SOSAS specifics. Five clusters of 10 households were randomly selected and 100 individuals were interviewed. Problems with the tool, iPad use, and respondent answers were collected. Daily debriefings with the enumerators aimed to identify problems and ways for improvement.


RESULTS
Administering SOSAS via iPads was found to be easy and facilitated data entry. Quick analysis of the data allowed for rapid feedback. Although the survey has 450 possible data entry points, by using conditional formatting, the enumerators were able to collect household demographics and interview two randomly selected household members in an average of 25 min. The survey methodology was acceptable, with a response rate of 96%. Five major sections were amended after the pilot.


CONCLUSIONS
Pilot testing of SOSAS showed that a population-based survey measuring the prevalence of surgical disease could be undertaken in a low income country. It is recommended that SOSAS be used with a larger sample size to calculate the prevalence of surgical disease in low income countries.
Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. rsgroen@hotmail.com
Reinou S
RS
Groen
Mohamed
M
Samai
Robin T
RT
Petroze
Thaim B
TB
Kamara
Sahr E
SE
Yambasu
James F
JF
Calland
T Peter
TP
Kingham
Thomas M
TM
Guterbock
Barbara
B
Choo
Adam L
AL
Kushner
D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012807:Sierra Leone / Q000453:epidemiology; D012984:Software; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*