Informed Consent Practices in Global Surgery among Plastic Surgery Organizations.

Abstract

Global surgery organizations often serve vulnerable and complex patient populations, but there is limited knowledge on the protocols used to obtain informed consent for procedures and content sharing. The Plastic Surgery Foundation Volunteers in Plastic Surgery database was queried for organizations actively involved in global surgery. Seventy-nine organizations received email invitations to participate in a survey study regarding their protocols for obtaining consent for procedures and sharing multimedia content. A total of 17 organizations (22 percent) completed the survey. All were active for at least 10 years, and 15 of 17 organizations (88 percent) organized at least two mission trips annually. Fifteen of 17 organizations (88 percent) reported obtaining written consent for surgical procedures. Eight of 17 organizations, less than half (46 percent), used a written consent form that was created jointly with the local hospital. For sharing content related to global surgery experiences, 12 of 16 (75 percent) obtained some form of written consent, whereas one of 16 (6 percent) did not routinely obtain any consent. Organizations shared content most commonly through their websites and Facebook. All organizations reported using interpreters to obtain informed consent at least some of the time. Ten of 16 (62 percent) reported that they relied primarily on volunteers or community members to provide informal interpretation assistance, rather than formally trained professional interpreters. Practices related to obtaining informed consent vary widely among global surgery organizations. The development of standardized protocols and guidelines will ensure that global health organizations, in collaboration with their local partners, properly obtain informed consent for procedures and sharing publicly viewable content.