Abstract
Improving access to safe surgical care by collaboratively developing a low-cost, ultraportable device platform: pilot trial results
Highlights
We organized a tri-institutional, interdisciplinary collaboration to develop, evaluate, and deploy a new technology to help increase access to safe surgery
Over 56% of clinical staff reported average time to repair a single piece of medical equipment as longer than six months
This study demonstrates that medical device donations fail to sustainably improve health outcomes, and technology innovation in global health should incorporate community expertise and local resources
Summary
We organized a tri-institutional, interdisciplinary collaboration to develop, evaluate, and deploy a new technology to help increase access to safe surgery. Most equipment available at participating hospitals required electricity to function; 56% of clinical staff reported experiencing power outages two or more times per week, rendering electricity-dependent technology useless. Over 56% of clinical staff reported average time to repair a single piece of medical equipment as longer than six months. Interpretation: Health and technical education efforts should be intensively explored to increase working knowledge of medical device maintenance in LMIC.
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