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Surgical Care Perspectives: Exploring Barriers And Facilitators To Surgery In Rural Nebraska, Sarah Stanislav

Capstone Experience

Background: Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is associated with less pain, faster recovery, and lower complication rates. Despite being the standard of care, it remains underutilized in rural Nebraska. Surgeon shortages and limited studies describing patient and provider factors influencing treatment gaps contribute to unnecessary complications and healthcare expenditure. Our study aimed to understand rural surgical care barriers and facilitators encountered by patients, providers, and stakeholders in Nebraska. Methods: This exploratory mixed methods study involved 17 semi-structured interviews using a snowball sampling of eligible participants affiliated with an MIS Advisory Committee. Two coders analyzed data using NVivo12. A follow-up review of …