International Aid's medical equipment training program

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in some developing countries, up to 50% of the medical equipment is unusable at any given time. In some hospitals, up to 80% of their medical equipment is inoperative and is stored in hallways or patient rooms. This situation results in the neglect of patients and an increased risk of harm to them and to health workers. In addition, time and resources are wasted on the purchase of sophisticated and duplicate biomedical technology equipment, which is underutilized or never used due to the lack of operator training and a qualified maintenance staff. The inexperience of operators and the lack of repair and maintenance capabilities drastically reduce the functioning life of equipment, limiting access to life-saving care for the most vulnerable segments of society. International Aid (IA), a health-focused relief and development organization, has been addressing this problem by training biomedical technicians in developing countries since 1998. Through their medical equipment training (MET) program, 337 trainees in 15 countries have received at least four weeks of training in electronics, general education, and medical equipment troubleshooting. International Aid's MET program has made great contributions to the hospitals in the developing world thanks to the volunteer efforts of biomedical engineers.