Concrete Device Ideas
Within the past week we’ve been able to visit the three biggest hospitals in Unguja: Mnazi Mmoja, Makunduchi, and Kivunge. Between those three and three more rural hospitals, we’ve spoken to over 100 mothers and 30 health workers. We have confirmed that the three biggest problems pregnant women face are anemia, post partum hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia, however infant mortality is also very prevalent so we’re exploring device ideas that address infants as well as mothers.
Now that we’ve gotten to see a substantial amount of the current health system here, we’ve started to formulate some concrete ideas:
- Ultrasound – the cost of receiving an ultrasound test often poses a financial burden on mothers, so women in farther reaching areas often choose not to get it done. Many facilities also don’t have their own ultrasound machines, so only provide testing once a month when a machine can be brought in for a day. A cheap, portable ultrasound device would allow women to better and earlier determine any complications in their pregnancy
- Infant devices – numerous health staff have mentioned the need for devices such as fetal heart rate monitors, ventouse suction cup for vacuum delivery (such as the Kiwi model), and suctions/oxygen machines to clear the newborn’s airway. Hospitals tend to have some of these devices, but they usually only have one that is broken or out of order. An inexpensive, durable model would be beneficial for nurses, midwives, and doctors to ensure safe infant deliveries.
- Anemia diagnostics – Hemocue is the standard anemia test and is well accepted in Zanzibar. It is fairly cheap, but cost can still be a barrier for some women, and replacement microcuvettes for blood samples are sometimes hard to restock for lab staff. Health workers don’t seem to trust paper strips, especially for pregnant mothers,which may pose a challenge. They believe they are inaccurate and too many give false positives and false negatives.
