Q methodology in low-resource settings: Challenges and best practices

Reduction of poverty is a main goal in the global development agenda. The most extreme forms of poverty are mainly rooted in the Global South, and even more engrained in its rurality. Such poverty is not only characterized by infimum incomes, but also by the lack of access to many resources and services: health, sanitation, drinking water,...

Smart Diagnostics for Low Resource Settings: Target product profiles for devices to diagnose urinary schistosomiasis in Nigeria

Urinary schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the Schistosoma haematobium parasite. People can get infected when they get into contact with contaminated fresh water. The disease is most prevalent amongst children, farmers and rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, the disease is diagnosed by microscopic egg count...

A Plastic Plate Press: A locally producible plastic plate press for bottom-up recycling in low-resource settings

This project deals with two problems, which in combination ask for a single solution. The first problem being plastic waste accumulation in low resource areas and the second being that production and construction materials in these low-resource areas are often very expensive. When these two problems are combined, an opportunity arises to...

Portable, Neonatal, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Device for Low-Resource Settings: Evaluation of Feasibility through Simulation and Prototyping

An estimated 9 million infants are born prematurely each year in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and the leading cause of death in preterms is respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is a popular treatment for RDS and has been proven to be safe, feasible, and effective for use in low- and middle-income...

Tachypnea diagnosis for low resource settings

More children under the age of five in developing countries die of pneumonia than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Pneumonia is responsible for 18% of the deaths of children under the age of five globally. The vast majority of deaths due to pneumonia are set in the poorest regions, resulting in the death of 1,4 million children from...