Fonctionnalité des concentrateurs d'oxygène hospitaliers au Nord Kivu, République Démocratique du Congo.

INTRODUCTION: Nord-Kivu is facing a high prevalence of hypoxemia diseases requiring the use of oxygen concentrators. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH: This article describes the level of functionality of oxygen concentrators in 31 hospital structures, in North Kivu province of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study carried out a survey of managerial and maintenance personnel and the removal of parameters on the operation of oxygen concentrators from 31 hospitals handling Covid19 cases in North Kivu. The collected data was encoded and analyzed using SPSS version 26 software. RESULTS: The oxygen concentrators were of 28 different brands, and in 65.8% of cases with a 5-liter capacity. They were used in 70% of cases in 4 departments (Intensive care, operating room, emergency room, internal medicine). They were donated in 66.2% of cases (n=225), without accessory equipment in33.6% of cases and without training of maintenance technician in three of five cases or users in one in two cases. In 45% of cases, maintenance was provided. In 67.6% of cases oxygen concentrators were not functional (n=225), with impaired volume flow in 54.9% of cases and oxygen levels in 34,6% of cases. The oxygen deficit was variable depending on the type of hospital structures (p=0,005) but not the volume flow (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Low functionality of oxygen concentrators increases patient risk and shows the interest to implement a provincial strategy for the management and maintenance of bio-medical equipment and its integration into regional health development plan.

Accès aux soins et prise en charge des personnes diabétiques en République démocratique du Congo.

INTRODUCTION: This article presents a study conducted in the city of Goma (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and addresses:the difficulties encountered by diabetic patients in accessing quality care and remaining compliant with treatmentsome of the solutions provided by two pilot health centers and the challenges they face. METHODS: 38 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using an inductive method. These interviews were conducted with patients and local authorities in the community. On the other hand, in the pilot health centers, interviews were conducted with patients, their relatives and healthcare personnel. RESULTS: Four barriers to accessing care and following treatment were identified: the cost of care, following a diet, the appeal of traditional medicine and acceptance of the disease. Similarly, three innovative approaches, implemented in the pilot health centers, emerged: payment methods, humanization of care and the deployment of a multidisciplinary team. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights several barriers to access care and follow-up for diabetics in Goma. It also focuses on some innovative approaches tested by two pilot health centers. Our analysis could be deepened by direct observations within the facilities and by collecting quantitative data.