title: Determining the utility and durability of medical equipment donated to a rural clinic in a low-income country.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health centers in low-income countries often depend on donations to provide appropriate diagnostic equipment. However, donations are sometimes made without an understanding of the recipient's needs, practical constraints or sustainability of supplies.
  
  
  METHODS
  We donated a set of physical diagnostic equipment, non-invasive instrument tests and laboratory supplies to a rural health center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We collected information on the usage and durability of equipment and supplies for each patient encounter over a 1-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We recorded 913 patient encounters. The most commonly used physical diagnostic equipment were the stethoscope (98.9%; 903/913), thermometer (81.7%; 746/913), adult scale (81.4%; 744/913), stop watch (62.6%; 572/913), adult sphygmomanometer (55.8%; 510/913), infant scale (24.9%; 228/913), measuring tape (24.3%; 222/913) and fetoscope (23.8%; 218/913). The most commonly used laboratory tests were the blood smear for malaria (53.7%; 491/913), hematocrit (23.5%; 215/913), urinalysis (20.1%; 184/913) and sputum stain for TB (13.3%; 122/913). With the exception of a penlight and solar lantern, all equipment remained functional.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study adds valuable information about the utility and durability of equipment supplied to a health center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our results might aid in determining the appropriateness of donated medical equipment in similar settings. The selection of donated goods should be made with knowledge of the context in which it will be used, and utilization should be monitored.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA melissa_bauserman@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bauserman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hailey
authors.affiliation: Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gado
authors.affiliation: Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Adrien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lokangaka
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Health Technologies, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Health Technologies, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richards-Kortum
authors.affiliation: Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tshefu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bose
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D003906:Developing Countries; D019719:Diagnostic Equipment / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D037921:Gift Giving; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007223:Infant; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis; D011203:Poverty; D012424:Rural Population
keywords: Delivery of healthcare; Developing countries; Diagnostic equipment; Rural health; World health