ReviewFrontiers in health services2025
Medical equipment in the global south: perspective of sustainability and donations.
Review in Frontiers in health services, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Biophotonics point-of-care diagnostics in low-resource settings: a South African perspective.Journal of biomedical optics · 2026Review
- The role of medical equipment reliability assessment in improving healthcare service quality: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Breaking the "idling dilemma" of donated medical equipment: a TDABC-based analysis of health policy failure and a pathway to reform.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Disparities in healthcare infrastructure between the Global South and North continue to affect medical equipment availability, functionality, and sustainability in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study combines a systematic literature review with on-site fieldwork in Ugandan hospitals to assess the current state of medical equipment in LMICs and propose actionable strategies for more sustainable donation practices. Following a systematic literature review, 18 articles were analyzed and categorized according to five research questions addressing sustainability metrics, affordability, recycling practices, systemic barriers, and innovations in medical equipment use. Parallel fieldwork conducted by biomedical engineering volunteers in two Ugandan hospitals documented over 1,400 devices and resulted in the repair of 51 items-generating estimated savings of $102,000. Many devices remained unused due to a lack of spare parts and contextual compatibility. A carbon footprint assessment of donated equipment shipment from Denmark to Uganda further underscored the environmental implications of donation programs. Drawing on literature insights and field observations, this paper proposes a set of eight principles to enhance the sustainability and long-term impact of medical equipment donations. Emphasizing context-aware design, training, maintenance, and donor-recipient collaboration, these recommendations aim to shift donation models toward more resilient and responsible healthcare partnerships.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.