Biomedical Engineering in the Global South: A brief descriptive survey

Abstract

Introduction: As national healthcare systems around the global south continue to evolve, technology and local biomedical engineering (BME) needs to be part of that evolution. There is a paucity of descriptions of the current state of BME in hospitals around the global south.
Methods: A questionnaire was designed, validated, and distributed online to healthcare institutions around the global south to gain a better understanding of the current state of their BME departments and challenges they face. The questionnaire was answered by convenience. This paper is an initial look at some of the questions answered on the survey.
Results: 55 surveys were opened and 46 were completed by several hospital facilities from 17 countries. A predominance of large, tertiary care hospitals responded. 44.4% of the respondents had more than 4 Biomedical engineers or technicians working at their facility and 40% of all BME personnel were university trained. Ventilators, CV Monitors, and diagnostic laboratory equipment were the most frequently damaged technology at these facilities. Lack of spare parts were the most common reason stated for the inability to recover or repair damaged equipment.
Conclusions: The preponderance of large tertiary care hospital responses does not capture the conditions lived in smaller rural hospitals, yet the kinds of equipment most frequently damaged and the reasons for their lack of recovery or repair are challenges frequently faced at even large tertiary care hospitals in the global south.