2022 News Highlights

Johanna Hinman, MPH, MCHES, director of education and global surgery for the Emory Department of Surgery, will present her abstract "Global surgery and public health: Striving for equity" at the American Public Health Association's 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo in Boston, MA, November 6-9, 2022. 

Ms. Hinman's co-authors were Steven Roser, DMD, MD, DeLos Hill Chair and Professor of Surgery and chair of the Emory Global Perioperative Alliance (EGPA); Carla Haack, MD, general and GI surgeon and EGPA participant and mentor; and Constance Shreckengost, MD, PhD, PGY-3 general surgery resident and EGPA member. 

Building upon the collaborative work of the EGPA, the presentation will describe the global health burden represented by surgical disease; identify key global surgery concepts in relation to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, a collection of interlinked global ambitions designed to address universal challenges and achieve a better future for all; and discuss the Department of Surgery's educational approaches to preparing trainees for global surgery work. 

The abstract illuminates how the department is working to contribute to the precept that providing safe and affordable surgical and anesthesia care on a global scale can reduce premature death and disability worldwide, while boosting welfare, economic productivity, and long-term development. To develop a workforce able to participate in this process, the department's specific residency track includes rotations in orthopaedics, neurosurgery, urology, trauma, and gynecology and obstetrics, which comprise the most common international surgical concerns. 

In addition to training in other countries, Ms. Hinman and her co-authors report that the department offers experiences in rural, underserved regions and national safety net hospitals in the U.S., as well as a curricular focus on social determinants of health, strengthening of global health systems, health equity, ethics, and social justice.