A Request from Maxwell Boakye, MD MPH MBA FACS in Louisville, United States of America

Description of request

This collaboration between the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Louisville (UofL), Kentucky, USA, the University of Ghana medical school (UGMS), and Korlebu Teaching Hospital will establish a neurosurgery health service, clinical, and outcomes research program in Ghana. We aim to build research capacity to perform observational and clinical trials in neurosurgery in Ghana. We plan to develop technology to help improve access to surgery, facilitate research, improve surgical quality outcomes, and reduce costs and disparities. We are looking for global health/surgery scientists, surgeons, student volunteers who can participate in research studies in various roles, including assisting with project design, registry development, data collection, analysis, manuscript writing, quality improvement research, technology, and software engineering. The ultimate goal is to develop a portfolio of neurosurgical research supporting efforts to improve neurosurgery access, quality, outcomes, and overall neurosurgery innovation and research capacity in Ghana. The project leader is Dr Max Boakye, a neurosurgeon from Ghana, trained in the US, and currently Professor and Vice Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of Louisville.  For the last 20 years, he has established similar research programs at Stanford University and the University of Louisville. This project is a collaboration between UofL neurosurgery outcomes research group, surgical innovation engineers, and many of the leading neurosurgeons in Ghana.  Collaborators include, Dr Jerome Boatey, neurosurgeon at KBTH, Dr. Patrick Bankah, head of neurosurgery at KBTH, Dr Thomas Dakurah, former head of Neurosurgery at KBTH, Dr Mabel Banson, neurosurgeon KBTH and lecturer, UGMS, Dr Hadi Abdullah, neurosurgeon KBTH, and Prof Alfred Yawson, Dean UGMS.Although the efforts of volunteers will drive the initial steps, a goal is to compete for grant funding to support research projects successfully. This is an opportunity for students to gain clinical research skills in global neurosurgery focusing on Ghana, in the West African diaspora.