title: Designing an early stage prototype using readily available material for a neonatal incubator for poor settings.
abstract: A clinical gap remains between the need for and the availability of functioning incubators to address the burden of neonatal mortality in poor settings. Increased referral capacity and demand for facility-based deliveries will necessitate enhanced care capacity. Rapid dysfunction of donated equipment is not only demoralizing to providers and patient families, but also presents a disincentive for timely referral to facilities. We expect a sustainable incubator that meets target clinical needs can serve as a training catalyst for providers to learn aspects along the continuum of newborn care. Many of these skills either do not require or may obviate the need for a newborn to be in such a device. Far from being a competitor to functioning approaches to thermo-regulation in resource-limited settings, a high- functioning and sustainable device targeted for district level hospitals can work collaboratively along the continuum of newborn care. Meeting this need will help ensure survival of imminently preventable causes of childhood mortality.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Clinician Educator Service, CIMIT Global Health Initiative, USA. krolson@partners.org
authors.forename: Kristian R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Aya C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Caldwell
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007186:Incubators, Infant; D010865:Pilot Projects
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials