Sustainability You Can Measure: Objective Metrics to Evaluate and Improve Global ENT Partnerships

Sunday, October 18, 2026

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT

Location: West Exhibit Hall A, Learning Zone 7

Moderator(s)

Myra A. Zaheer, BA

Medical Student
George Washington University, School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Panelist(s)

JW

Joshua P. Wiedermann, MD, MGSC, FACS

Chair of Pediatric Otolaryngology
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota, United States
LJ

Lia K. Jacobson, MD FAAP MS

Pediatric Otolaryngologist
UCSF
Pacifica , CA, United States
Mary Xu, MD

Head and Neck Surgeon
UCSF
San Francisco, California, United States

Disclosure(s):

Lia K. Jacobson, MD FAAP MS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

The session addresses: (1) defining sustainability using measurable domains aligned with clinical outcomes, training capacity, operations/equipment maintenance, and equity/governance; (2) selecting objective metrics feasible to collect in LMIC settings with minimal burden, including those from the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery and surgical quality indicators adapted for low-resource contexts; (3) identifying red-flag indicators of unsustainable or harmful program dynamics such as equipment abandonment, dependency creation, and inequitable leadership; and (4) implementing a "minimum sustainability dataset" to enable transparent reporting and cross-site learning.

Learning Objectives:

Define sustainability in global ENT using measurable domains aligned with established frameworks: clinical outcomes, training capacity, operations/equipment, and equity/governance.
Select objective metrics that are feasible to collect in LMIC settings, including basic-level Lancet Commission indicators, surgical quality indicators adapted for low-resource contexts, equipment functionality and maintenance tracking, and equity-stratified outcomes.
Identify red-flag indicators of unsustainable or harmful program dynamics, including equipment abandonment, dependency creation, inequitable leadership, and extractive research practices (unilateral agenda-setting, inadequate capacity assessments, absence of MOU).