Portrait of Dan Poenaru

Dan Poenaru

Associate Academic Member
Professor, McGill University, Department of Pediatric Surgery
Research Topics
AI and Healthcare
AI in Health
Medical Machine Learning

Biography

Dan Poenaru is a professor of pediatric surgery at McGill University and a senior scientist at the research institute of the McGill University Health Centre. He has a master’s degrees in health professions education and international development, and a doctorate in health strategy and management. Poenaru is a Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS) and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-funded investigator in patient-centered surgical care, head of the McGill CommiSur Lab, director of the Jean-Martin Laberge Fellowship in Global Pediatric Surgery, and a founding member of the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery (GICS).

His current areas of academic interest are technology-assisted surgical communication and medical education, including AI, VR and digital health devices, patient-centred surgical care, and developing global surgical research capacity.

Current Students

PhD - McGill University
Master's Research - McGill University
PhD - McGill University
PhD - McGill University
PhD - McGill University
Principal supervisor :
PhD - McGill University
PhD - McGill University
PhD - Université de Sherbrooke
Co-supervisor :
PhD - Université de Sherbrooke
Co-supervisor :
Master's Research - McGill University

Publications

Assessing Language Bias in Pediatric Surgical Systematic Reviews: A Meta-epidemiological Study.
Dunya Moghul
Elena Guadagno
Robert Baird
Patient safety culture in the operating room of African hospitals: a systematic review
Jacques Fadhili Bake
Naïcen Ghanmi
Elena Guadagno
K. M. Claude
Tsongo Kibendelwa Zacharie
Patient safety in operating rooms has globally improved through interventions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Ch… (see more)ecklist and multidisciplinary team training. However, while evidence from high-income countries is well documented, there remains limited consolidated knowledge on the understanding, application, and effectiveness of safety culture interventions in African surgical settings, which this review seeks to address. This systematic review examined factors and protocols affecting surgical safety in African operating rooms. We hypothesized that persistent systemic barriers undermine safety culture despite adoption of global measures. Following PRISMA 2020, we searched eight databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Africa-Wide, CINAHL, Global Health, Global Index Medicus, Web of Science) from inception to 5 December 2024, using variations of text words present in the title, abstract, or keyword fields, alongside relevant subject headings, to identify articles addressing surgical safety and culture throughout Africa. Included studies involved operating room professionals in African countries and used quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods designs. We excluded non-operating room settings, patient-only studies, inaccessible full texts, reviews, editorials, letters, conference abstracts, and duplicates. Two reviewers independently screened and appraised studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Findings were synthesized narratively with subgroup analysis by study type and theme. Out of 9,875 identified records, 22 studies from 12 African countries (2014–2024) met inclusion criteria, with Ethiopia contributing the highest number (n = 4). Various assessment tools, including the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, and the National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anaesthesia Plans interview manual, revealed recurring challenges: inadequate non-punitive responses to errors, communication barriers, hierarchical structures, and resource constraints. Four interventions showed promise: implementation and training on the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, Safe Surgery 2020 initiatives, Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons training, and multidisciplinary training. The heterogeneity of study designs, sample sizes, and outcome measures limited direct comparisons and precluded meta-analysis. Nonetheless, the review highlights persistent barriers and emerging opportunities to strengthen patient safety culture in African operating rooms. While the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist remains valuable, sustainable progress requires multi-level strategies that address systemic constraints and incorporate context-sensitive adaptations. PROSPERO, CRD42024627076.
Comparing Virtual Reality Trauma Training Across Diverse Clinical Backgrounds: A Mixed-Methods Study in Canada And India.
Boaz Laor
Samia Benabess
S. Kundu
Ayla Gerk
F. Botelho
Jean-Robert Kwizera
Arjunaditya Kundu
Tom Dolby
Elena Guadagno
Dhruva Ghosh
Vishal Micheal
Rohit Theodore
Thejus Varghese
Large language models for electronic health records in pediatric and surgical care: a systematic review.
Waseem Abu-Ashour
Elena Guadagno
Suspected Biliary Atresia in Brazil: Impact of Regional Healthcare Variations on Diagnostic Timeliness
Luiza Telles
Paulo Henrique Moreira Melo
Ana Maria Bicudo Diniz
Gabriele Lech
Ayla Gerk
Lauren Kratky
David P. Mooney
Joaquim Bustorff-Silva
The Impact of Pediatric Surgery Global Travel Fellowships: A Study by the Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons Global Partnership Committee.
Sacha Williams
Natasha Bejjani
Elena Guadagno
Robert Baird
Shahrzad Joharifard
Melanie Morris
Robin Petroze
Sherif Emil
Risk factors for catastrophic healthcare expenditure and high economic burden for children with anorectal malformations in Southwestern Uganda
Felix Oyania
Caroline Q. Stephens
Sarah Ullrich
Amy M. Shui
Meera Kotagal
Godfrey Zari Rukundo
Joseph Ngonzi
Ava Yap
Francis Bajunirwe
Doruk Ozgediz
Intersectionality in Surgical Care in LMICs: A Systematic Scoping Review
Ayla Gerk
Elena Guadagno
Justina Seyi-Olajide
Dunya Moghul
Joaquim Bustorff-Silva
Cristina Camargo
The Impact of a Pediatric Surgery Fundamentals Boot Camp on New Surgical Trainees' Perceived Knowledge and Confidence Levels.
Julia Ferreira
Simon Rahman
Fabio Botelho
Farhan Banji
W. A. Igrine
Gianluca Bertolizio
Sam Daniel
Thomas Engelhardt
Chantal Frigon
Lily H P Nguyen
Catherine Paquet
Pramod Puligandla
Hussein Wissanji
Davinia Withington
Yasmine Yousef
Sherif Emil
Untold stories: A qualitative investigation of patient and family experiences with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
Alexandra Dimmer
Zanib Nafees
Sabrina Beauseigle
Franco A Carnevale
Elena Guadagno
Pramod Puligandla
A systematic review of risk stratification for pediatric appendicitis
Mahshid Mortazavi
Alexandra Dimmer
Elena Guadagno
Sherif Emil
Corrigendum to "Child- and Proxy-reported Differences in Patient-reported Outcome and Experience Measures in Pediatric Surgery: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis" [Journal of Pediatric Surgery 60 (2025) 162172].
Zanib Nafees
Siena O'Neill
Alexandra Dimmer
Elena Guadagno
Julia Ferreira
Nancy Mayo