Implementation of a satisfaction survery in hernia international cooperation campaign

Abstract Aim To assess the feasibility of implementing a survey in a surgical cooperation campaign to know about patients' demographics and satisfaction with service provided. Material and methods A survey was designed to collect data about demographics and satisfaction of each patient during our 5 days campaign in The Gambia. Satisfaction items were ranged from 1 to 5. Local nurses were trained to carry out the survey. We encouraged every patient to perform the survey before discharge. Results 48 patients with hernia were operated. Groin hernioplasty was the most common procedure (45, 93,8%). 45 (93,8%) were men. Mean age was 52,2 years. Only 4 patients (8,3%) did not fill in the survey. 10 (23,8%) patients that filled in the survey were local. Between the foreign ones, median travel distance and time were 103 km (IQR 52–149 km) and 2 hours (IQR 1–3 hours), respectively. The most frequent means of transport was public transport (22, 75,9%). The most frequent job occupation was farmer (15, 31,3%), followed by local businesses (8, 16,7%). About satisfaction items, all the mean punctuations were over 4,4. All the surveyed patients would recommend the campaign program, and only 2 patients (4,5%) didn't perceived a quality of care according to the cost of the public health services. Conclusions A satisfaction survey is a feasible way to study the target population of future cooperation campaigns in a specific destination. It allows to know if the campaign meets the standards of care according to the patient's opinion.