This presentation defined the field of global surgery and reviewed the key messages and recommendations from the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery.  We also discussed the need for high-quality surgical and anesthesia care to address maternal mortality and review frameworks to measure quality of surgical care.  Dr. Roa shared her research and experiences during the Paul Farmer Fellowship in Global Surgery and Social Change.

 

Dr. Lina Roa is a Paul Farmer Research Fellow in Global Surgery at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a resident in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on inequities around access to health care, particularly to high quality and affordable surgical care. She currently works in Amazonas, Brazil and Chiapas, Mexico building research capacity and improving quality of surgical care. She is passionate about maternal health, particularly access to caesarean sections and medical education. She obtained her Medical Degree from the University of Toronto and has an MPH in Clinical Effectiveness from Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. (bio courtesy of Harvard Colombia Student Society)