Resumo

ISIAGI, M et al. Community experiences of surgery in peri-urban Cape Town. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. [online]. 2026, vol.116, n.1, pp.54-61. ISSN 2078-5135.  https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2026.v116i1.3631.

BACKGROUND: Surgical care is critical for addressing universal access to healthcare, but access to safe and timely surgery is limited, especially in poorly resourced settings OBJECTIVE: To determine the surgical experiences of individuals in a peri-urban community in Cape Town, South Africa METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey of individuals in a peri-urban Cape Town community was conducted with door-to door interviews by trained community assistants, who provided multilingual translation of study materials as needed. The study (i) describes the surgical burden of disease and outcomes; (ii) assesses health-seeking behaviour and barriers to care using the Three Delays framework; and (iii) uses descriptive statistics to characterise respondent demographics and surgical experiences and χ² tests to compare awareness, attitudes and acceptability across genders and locations RESULTS: Data from 432 valid responses of 450 surveys conducted showed that chronic diseases were common, affecting 240/431 (56%), with a higher prevalence in females than in males (171/285 (60%) v. 63/133 (47%), p<0.05). Most participants (208/432, 44%) lived within 10 km of their nearest healthcare facility, predominantly public facilities (417/432, 97%). The Three Delays framework showed that 87/432 (20%) delayed seeking surgical care, 114/432 (26%) experienced delays reaching facilities and 95/432 (32%) faced delays in receiving appropriate care, while 95/432 (22%) reported no delays. The surgical burden was substantial, with 260/428 (60%) having undergone surgery in their lifetime and 195 surgical procedures performed in the last 5 years. Postoperative disability affected 43/432 (10%) of participants, primarily manifesting as body function impairments (22/43, 51.2%) and activity limitations (7/43, 16.3%). Only 67% understood post-surgical treatment protocols CONCLUSION: This study reveals significant challenges in surgical care delivery in this peri-urban community. Key findings include a high chronic disease burden, substantial delays in accessing surgical care and significant postoperative disability rates. These results provide the first comprehensive assessment of surgical experiences in peri-urban Cape Town, highlighting the need for comprehensive interventions targeting chronic disease and surgical care, even in peri-urban areas close to public health facilities

Palavras-chave : global surgery; community experiences; surgery; low-resourced setting.

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