SurgQ Logo The George Institute for Global Health India - WHO Collaborating Centre

Comprehensive Assessment of Surgical Care Quality in India

A national, multicentre, collaborative study to measure evidence-based quality indicators and establish a baseline for surgical care excellence across India

NATIONAL MULTICENTRE COLLABORATIVE LAUNCH: 15 DEC 2025
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Registration Deadline

5th February 2026

Register Now

The SurgQ Study

Led by the IndSurg Collaborative and WHO Collaborating Centre for Emergency, Critical and Operative Care

Study Title

Comprehensive Assessment of Surgical Care Quality (SurgQ) for Abdominal Surgeries performed at Secondary and Tertiary Care Centers in India

Study Design

A prospective, cross-sectional, multicentre observational study measuring quality indicators in real-time

Population

Patients aged 18 years and older undergoing major abdominal surgeries at secondary and tertiary care centers

Initiative Type

An investigator-initiated, investigator-led, and unfunded collaborative research study

The Urgent Need for Surgical Quality Data

313M
Global Surgeries Annually
4.2M
Deaths Within 30 Days
7.7%
Of All Global Fatalities
50%
Deaths in LMICs

In India, a substantial gap exists in our understanding of surgical care quality due to limited resources, lack of standardized protocols, and fragmented care pathways. The SurgQ study adapts a proven 15-indicator quality assessment tool to the Indian context, measuring safety, effectiveness, timeliness, patient-centeredness, equity, and efficiency.

Our Mission

Primary Aim

To systematically assess the quality of surgical care being provided across secondary and tertiary Indian hospitals by measuring evidence-based indicators

Key Objectives

  • To estimate baseline surgical quality indicators across India
  • To test the feasibility of data collection using an LMIC-specific assessment tool
  • To assess variation in care quality across public/private and urban/rural hospitals

Study Infographic & Design

Comprehensive overview of the SurgQ study structure and objectives

SurgQ Study Objectives and Duration
SurgQ Study Population and Design
SurgQ Data Collection Journey

How It Works - Our Methodology

Study Setting

Secondary and tertiary care hospitals in India performing both elective and emergency abdominal surgeries

Data Collection Period

15-day data collection per hospital between July–December 2025, post-IEC clearance, with telephone follow-up post-discharge

Data Sources

  • General Surgery department registers & logbooks
  • Operation Theatre logbooks
  • Patient files and interviews

Data Management

  • Printed forms or KOBOToolbox digital platform
  • Standardized, centralized data collection
  • Secure, GDPR-compliant servers
  • Data encryption and personal oversight

Study Documents

Access all key documents to support participation in the SurgQ study

For the Launch Deck, click here
For the Launch Recording, click here
For the Launch PPT, click here
For the Data Dictionary, click here
For the Study Protocol, click here
For the Concept Note, click here
For the ICD (English), click here
For the ICD (Hindi), click here
For the ICD (Marathi), click here
For the PIS (English), click here
For the PIS (Hindi), click here
For the PIS (Marathi), click here
For the Offline Data Collection Form, click here
For the Data Sharing Agreement, click here

Participant Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

  • Patients aged 18 years and above
  • Undergoing elective abdominal surgeries
  • Undergoing emergency abdominal surgeries
  • Including obstructed/strangulated inguinal hernia cases

Exclusion Criteria

  • Patients operated outside the study site
  • Patients referred for post-operative management
  • Elective inguinal hernia repair cases