Obstetrics and gynecology devices designed for low‐ and middle‐income countries: A narrative review

Abstract

There are many barriers contributing to poor health outcomes for women in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), one of which is the lack of necessary medical devices. Presently, the development of various kinds of devices intended to improve women's health outcomes specifically in LMICs remains underrepresented in the literature; therefore, we performed a narrative review to understand this current state of literature. A literature search was conducted in Scopus and Overton between December 2023 to February 2024, and PubMed in October 2024 to broadly explore peer‐reviewed publications focusing on understanding the development of devices used specifically in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) care in LMICs. The initial search identified 132 published manuscripts: 114 non‐duplicates from 1993 to 2024. After a two‐research team member independent review, 22 manuscripts from 2011 to 2023 were included, and 18 devices identified. Nine devices focus on postpartum hemorrhage, four on general obstetrics, one on fetal monitoring, one on vaginal deliveries, one on gynecology hemorrhage, one on gynecology screening, and one on OBGYN anesthesia. This review provides recommendations for areas of improvement of key gaps affecting the development and implementation of OBGYN devices for use in LMICs. Recommendations are provided for various stages of the development to early commercialization phases. We believe future incorporation of these recommendations can aid in equitable and implementable medical device design for OBGYN care in LMICs.