Impact Of Biomedical Engineering On The Functionality Of Medical Devices In Government Hospitals In Uganda
- Author(s):Moses Lopuka, Atanga Desmond Funwie
PAPER DETAILS
- Paper ID:IQRJ-22070013
- Volume :001
- Issue:007
- July 2022
- ISSN: 2790-4296(Online)
- ISBN: 978-9956-504-74-9(Print)
Moses Lopuka1, Atanga Desmond Funwie. Paper Title: Impact Of Biomedical Engineering On The Functionality Of Medical Devices In Government Hospitals In Uganda
IQ Research Journal of IQ res. j. (2022)1(7): pp 01-7. Vol. 001, Issue 007, 07-2022, pp. 01753-01759
Received: 20 07, 2022; Accepted: 28 07, 2022; Published: 30 07, 2022
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Medical devices play a vital role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illness and disease, as well as patient rehabilitation. However, a sustainable maintenance of medical devices in government health facilities in the sub-Saharan Africa is still in infancy. In addition, according to the World Health Organisation – it projects that
over 50% of medical devices in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are non-
functional, not correctly used, and maintained due to various reasons such as lack of appropriate human resource, especially Biomedical Engineers/Technicians. This study aims to assess the impact of Biomedical Engineers/Technicians on the functional status of medical devices in government hospitals in Uganda.
Methods: The study utilised a descriptive survey form. A total of 37 hospitals were
observed from the four major regions of Uganda. The hospitals were divided as, where a
Biomedical Engineer/Technician is employed and where a Biomedical Engineer/Technician is not employed. 127 participants consented to the study and the
medical device status was assessed using the A-F scale recommended by the Ministry of Health.
Results: A majority of the hospitals observed were located in the Eastern region (42.7%)
followed by Central region (29%). Hospitals with a Biomedical Engineer/Technician
represented 79.5% whereas the remaining 20.5% represented without a Biomedical
Engineer/Technician. Furthermore, it was observed that hospitals with a Biomedical
Engineer/Technician had the highest number of functional medical devices compared to
without a Biomedical Engineer/Technician.
Conclusion: Employing a Biomedical Engineer/Technician reduces the number of non-
functional medical devices in the hospital. This has been corroborated by other studies as well. Therefore, it is recommended to employ many Biomedical Engineers/Technicians in the government hospitals to improve health service de-livery.
