Under review - Medical equipment manuals

Ziken International is producing, with KaR funding, a set of manuals on medical equipment for the developing world. This article takes a brief look at the review process involved.

The production of Ziken's manuals began in the first phase, KaR-DHT, and is continuing in the Disability KaR phase. The project includes a thorough review process. The aim of this is to ensure that the material reflects conditions in developing countries throughout the world and embraces as many sectors of healthcare as is feasible.

The process was designed to be as comprehensive as possible, says Rob Parsons of Ziken. The team contracted principal reviewers from nine countries on four continents to comment on all of the guides individually and on the production as a whole. The reviewers included senior staff from government ministries, from NGOs and from the private sector.

Each of the reviewers also found from one to six end-users to comment on specific guides, using a detailed questionnaire issued for each guide. Other international specialists in the field were contracted to comment on specific guides within their area of expertise.

Each guide thus received what Parsons calls a comprehensive grilling from a variety of reviewers. The process was lengthy, but as the final edit and dissemination stages approach, the team is confident that the guides will perform their intended job well. As an unforeseen consequence of the review process, some of the reviewers are already using the guides to inform their work, and are eager to see the finished versions and the guides they have not yet seen.

Parsons concludes:

Bringing together such a wide range of experience and skills has been hard work. But we are about to find out that it was worth it.

For information on the project's earlier phases see HCT8 Practical healthcare technology management procedure guides (PDF 35 KB)

More details of Ziken's current KaR-funded work

Contact Ziken on Tel/ Fax: +44 (0) 117 935 4613.