A call to action; an open letter to WHO from the international interventional radiology community (original) (raw)
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The 2016 RAD-AID Conference analyzed the accelerated global activity in the radiology community that is transforming medical imaging into an effective spearhead of health care capacity building in low-and middle-income countries. Global health efforts historically emphasized disaster response, crisis zones, and infectious disease outbreaks. However, the projected doubling of cancer and cardiovascular deaths in developing countries in the next 15 years and the need for higher technology screening and diagnostic technologies in low-resource regions, as articulated by the United Nations' new Sustainable Development Goals of 2016, is heightening the role of radiology in global health. Academic US-based radiology programs with RAD-AID chapters achieved a threefold increase in global health project offerings for trainees in the past 5 years. RAD-AID's nonprofit radiology volunteer corps continue to grow by more than 40% yearly, with a volunteer base of 5,750 radiology professionals, serving in 23 countries, donating close to 20,000 pro bono hours globally in 2016. As a high-technology specialty interfacing with nearly all medical and surgical disciplines, radiology underpins vital health technology infrastructure, such as digital imaging archives, electronic medical records, and advanced diagnosis and treatment, essential for long-term future health care capacity in underserved areas of the world.
Journal of Cancer Prevention & Current Research, 2022
Background According to a world bank and world health organization (WHO) group report, at least half of the world's population lack access to essential health care services. 1 This has led governments and a growing number of nonprofit organizations and corporations committed to addressing this challenge in many parts of the world. 2,3 RAD-AID international is one of these non-profit organizations dedicated to improving and expanding radiology services in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). 4 This effort is based on a longstanding estimate by WHO, that approximately half to two-thirds of the world's population has either nonexistent, sparse, or inadequate radiology. 5 The vast majority of the population with limited access to radiology services lives in LMICs of the world. 6-8 While the utilization of radiology has significantly increased in high-income countries (HICs), yet access to basic radiology services such as x-ray and ultrasound which can resolve between 70-80 percent of diagnostic problems remain a great challenge in LMICs. 5,9 This disparity in access is termed the "radiology divide" and is largely due to limited financial and human resources as well as lack of appropriate device procurement and planning. 10 In addition, disparity in access can impact health outcome and lead to higher rates of undiagnosed and untreated diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, trauma, and congenital abnormalities. Thus, the ultimate objective of any global health radiology initiative, is to optimize and reduce this disparity in access to radiology services and thereby converging health outcomes for health equity across countries, regions and populations. 11,12 In this article we identify challenges, opportunities, and strategies of radiology in global health initiatives in LMICs where resources may be scarce.
Journal of the American College of Radiology, 2013
Countries is a yearly forum addressing global shortages of radiology that contribute to health care disparity. In this paper, the authors present key issues and consensus positions related to the planning, analyzing, implementing, and monitoring of radiology in limited-resource areas on the basis of presentations at the 2012 RAD-AID conference, to advocate for (1) economic development to build health care capacity, (2) multidisciplinary educational strategies, (3) innovative epidemiologic and infrastructural solutions tailored to community needs, (4) advanced technical solutions leveraging the widespread use of wireless telecommunications and phone-based portable devices, and (5) improved dialog across radiology and public health institutions for coordinating global health strategies.
Journal of the American College of Radiology, 2016
Radiology in low-and middle-income (developing) countries continues to make progress. Research and international outreach projects presented at the 2015 annual RAD-AID conference emphasize important global themes, including (1) recent slowing of emerging market growth that threatens to constrain the advance of radiology, (2) increasing global noncommunicable diseases (such as cancer and cardiovascular disease) needing radiology for detection and management, (3) strategic prioritization for pediatric radiology in global public health initiatives, (4) continuous expansion of global health curricula at radiology residencies and the RAD-AID Chapter Network's participating institutions, and (5) technologic innovation for recently accelerated implementation of PACS in low-resource countries.
Tanzania IR Initiative: Training the First Generation of Interventional Radiologists
Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, 2019
Despite a population of nearly 60 million, there is currently not a single interventional radiologist in Tanzania. Based on an Interventional Radiology (IR) Readiness Assessment, the key obstacles to establishing IR in Tanzania are the lack of training opportunities and limited availability of disposable equipment. An IR training program was designed and initiated, which relies on US-based volunteer teams of IR physicians, nurses, and technologists to locally train radiology residents, nurses, and technologists. Preliminary results support this strategy for addressing the lack of training opportunities and provide a model for introducing IR to other resource-limited settings.
7 International Conference on Healthcare and Allied Sciences (ICHAS 2024
Malaysian Journal of Medical Research, 2024
Introduction: Radiologic technologists are medical professionals who perform diagnostic imaging examinations such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scans. While image interpretation by radiologic technologists is recognized in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, it remains a controversial issue in the Middle East. This study evaluates the perceptions of radiologists in the Middle East regarding the plain image interpretation of adults by radiologic technologist specialists. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study employs a quantitative approach. A close-ended questionnaire was distributed to 103 radiologists from various hospitals in Saudi Arabia and Sudan. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: The results showed that 29% of participants recognized the role of Radiologic Technologist Specialists (RTS) in writing image reports, while 61% did not. Additionally, 38% believed that image interpretation by RTS could help diagnose previously unreported radiographs. A total of 47% responded that allowing RTS to report images could reduce the workload and stress on radiologists, while 37% disagreed. Lastly, 43% believed that image interpretation by RTS could be introduced in the Middle East in the future. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that combining image reporting with radiography improves patient care. The results also indicate that delegating image reporting to radiologic technologists may reduce the burden on medical practitioners. Further research is needed in the Middle East to explore and assess the factors related to implementing this practice.
The NHLBI–UnitedHealth Global Health Centers of Excellence Program
Global Heart, 2016
Global collaborations in research are bringing new challenges and opportunities for investigators to combat noncommunicable diseases in low-and middle-income countries. In addition, funders are identifying creative new ways to fund global health research, form new research networks, and leverage team members' strengths.
BMC Health Services Research
Background The reduction of inequality is a key United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (WHO, Human Resources for Health: foundation for Universal Health Coverage and the post-2015 development agenda, 2014; Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2020). Despite marked disparities in radiological services globally, particularly between metropolitan and rural populations in low- and middle-income countries, there has been little work on imaging resources and utilization patterns in any setting (Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2020; WHO, Local Production and Technology Transfer to Increase Access to Medical Devices, 2019; European Society of Radiology (ESR), Insights Imaging 6:573-7, 2015; Maboreke et al., An audit of licensed Zimbabwean radiology equipment resources as a measure of healthcare access and equity, 2020; K...