TY - JOUR
T1 - Web-based quality assurance process drives improvements in obstetric ultrasound in 5 low- and middle-income countries
AU - Swanson, Jonathan O.
AU - Plotner, David
AU - Franklin, Holly L.
AU - Swanson, David L.
AU - Bolamba, Victor Lokomba
AU - Lokangaka, Adrien
AU - Pineda, Irma Sayury
AU - Figueroa, Lester
AU - Garces, Ana
AU - Muyodi, David
AU - Esamai, Fabian
AU - Kanaiza, Nancy
AU - Mirza, Waseem
AU - Naqvi, Farnaz
AU - Saleem, Sarah
AU - Mwenechanya, Musaku
AU - Chiwila, Melody
AU - Hamsumonde, Dorothy
AU - McClure, Elizabeth M.
AU - Goldenberg, Robert L.
AU - Nathan, Robert O.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Swanson et al.
PY - 2016/12/23
Y1 - 2016/12/23
N2 - High quality is important in medical imaging, yet in many geographic areas, highly skilled sonographers are in short supply. Advances in Internet capacity along with the development of reliable portable ultrasounds have created an opportunity to provide centralized remote quality assurance (QA) for ultrasound exams performed at rural sites worldwide. We sought to harness these advances by developing a web-based tool to facilitate QA activities for newly trained sonographers who were taking part in a cluster randomized trial investigating the role of limited obstetric ultrasound to improve pregnancy outcomes in 5 low- and middle-income countries. We were challenged by connectivity issues, by country-specific needs for website usability, and by the overall need for a high-throughput system. After systematically addressing these needs, the resulting QA website helped drive ultrasound quality improvement across all 5 countries. It now offers the potential for adoption by future ultrasound- or imaging-based global health initiatives.
AB - High quality is important in medical imaging, yet in many geographic areas, highly skilled sonographers are in short supply. Advances in Internet capacity along with the development of reliable portable ultrasounds have created an opportunity to provide centralized remote quality assurance (QA) for ultrasound exams performed at rural sites worldwide. We sought to harness these advances by developing a web-based tool to facilitate QA activities for newly trained sonographers who were taking part in a cluster randomized trial investigating the role of limited obstetric ultrasound to improve pregnancy outcomes in 5 low- and middle-income countries. We were challenged by connectivity issues, by country-specific needs for website usability, and by the overall need for a high-throughput system. After systematically addressing these needs, the resulting QA website helped drive ultrasound quality improvement across all 5 countries. It now offers the potential for adoption by future ultrasound- or imaging-based global health initiatives.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026856476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.9745/GHSP-D-16-00156
DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-16-00156
M3 - Article
C2 - 28031304
AN - SCOPUS:85026856476
SN - 2169-575X
VL - 4
SP - 675
EP - 683
JO - Global health, science and practice
JF - Global health, science and practice
IS - 4
ER -