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Barthélemy EJ, Diouf SA, Silva ACV, Abu-Bonsrah N, de Souza IAS, Kanmounye US, Gabriel P, Sarpong K, Nduom EK, Lartigue JW, Esene I, Karekezi C. Historical determinants of neurosurgical inequities in Africa and the African diaspora: A review and analysis of coloniality. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 3:e0001550. [PMID: 36962931 PMCID: PMC10021312 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
The movement to decolonize global health challenges clinicians and researchers of sub-disciplines, like global neurosurgery, to redefine their field. As an era of racial reckoning recentres the colonial roots of modern health disparities, reviewing the historical determinants of these disparities can constructively inform decolonization. This article presents a review and analysis of the historical determinants of neurosurgical inequities as understood by a group of scholars who share Sub-Saharan African descent. Vignettes profiling the colonial histories of Cape Verde, Rwanda, Cameroon, Ghana, Brazil, and Haiti illustrate the role of the colonial legacy in the currently unmet need for neurosurgical care in each of these nations. Following this review, a bibliographic lexical analysis of relevant terms then introduces a discussion of converging historical themes, and practical suggestions for transforming global neurosurgery through the decolonial humanism promulgated by anti-racist practices and the dialogic frameworks of conscientization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernest J. Barthélemy
- Global Neurosurgery Laboratory, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
- Society of Haitian Neuroscientists, Inc., New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Sylviane A. Diouf
- Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | | | - Nancy Abu-Bonsrah
- Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Research Department, Association of Future African Neurosurgeons, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | | | - Ulrick Sidney Kanmounye
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Phabinly Gabriel
- Society of Haitian Neuroscientists, Inc., New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Kwadwo Sarpong
- Department of Neurosurgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Edjah K. Nduom
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Jean Wilguens Lartigue
- Society of Haitian Neuroscientists, Inc., New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Surgery, Mirebalais University Hospital, Zanmi Lasante, Mirebalais, Haiti
| | - Ignatius Esene
- Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon
| | - Claire Karekezi
- Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Surgery, Rwanda Military Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda
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