Toluwani Akinpelu, Aaron I Dadzie, Victoria M Jacobsen, Valentine S Alia, Nikhil R Shah, Edward M Diaz, Daniel Bolton
{"title":"Pediatric surgical border health: Supply may not be meeting demand in South Texas communities.","authors":"Toluwani Akinpelu, Aaron I Dadzie, Victoria M Jacobsen, Valentine S Alia, Nikhil R Shah, Edward M Diaz, Daniel Bolton","doi":"10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.115908","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has historically high incidence of congenital defects (CDs) necessitating intervention by pediatric surgical specialties. We examined mortality in this region and related workforce patterns.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Mortality data related to CDs (2007-2021) and surgical workforce trends/projections (2024-2032) were collected using multiple databases: National Vital Statistics System, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Medical Board, Center for Disease Control.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Nationally, RGV counties rank as high as 5th in CD mortality rates. Between 2020 and 2024, 3 of 4 studied pediatric surgical specialties experienced stagnant/decreasing workforces ranging from 0 to 66 %. Furthermore, the RGV is projected to have some of the most marked state-wide disparities in surgical providers over the next 8 years.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>High infant mortality rates along with ongoing and future shortages of surgical specialists is concerning. These results may inform allocation of public health resources and workforce distribution to improve outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":7771,"journal":{"name":"American journal of surgery","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American journal of surgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.115908","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has historically high incidence of congenital defects (CDs) necessitating intervention by pediatric surgical specialties. We examined mortality in this region and related workforce patterns.
Methods: Mortality data related to CDs (2007-2021) and surgical workforce trends/projections (2024-2032) were collected using multiple databases: National Vital Statistics System, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Medical Board, Center for Disease Control.
Results: Nationally, RGV counties rank as high as 5th in CD mortality rates. Between 2020 and 2024, 3 of 4 studied pediatric surgical specialties experienced stagnant/decreasing workforces ranging from 0 to 66 %. Furthermore, the RGV is projected to have some of the most marked state-wide disparities in surgical providers over the next 8 years.
Conclusion: High infant mortality rates along with ongoing and future shortages of surgical specialists is concerning. These results may inform allocation of public health resources and workforce distribution to improve outcomes.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Surgery® is a peer-reviewed journal designed for the general surgeon who performs abdominal, cancer, vascular, head and neck, breast, colorectal, and other forms of surgery. AJS is the official journal of 7 major surgical societies* and publishes their official papers as well as independently submitted clinical studies, editorials, reviews, brief reports, correspondence and book reviews.