Local Cultures – Global Spaces

Abstract

Reducing infant mortality is an associated target of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (UN SDG 3) ‘Ensure Healthy Lives and Well Being at All Ages.’ In 2021, Honduras recorded 15.08 deaths per 1,000 live births and the World Factbook reported marked disparities in access to medical care across the country in 2023. Over the past six years, RIT Hope for Honduras collaborated with ambulance fabrication specialists in the United States, Honduran hospitals, and non-governmental organizations including Cruz Roja Hondureña to realize a faculty-student design concept for a neonatal inter-hospital transport ambulance. Our specialized prototype ‘Arca de Ángeles’ offers a coherent approach to community health planning by providing safe transportation that improves access to quality medical care for critically ill newborns. Our compact design is responsive to road conditions in a cost-effective vehicle outfitted with lifesaving equipment. The ambulance service makes relevant newly developed neonatal transport protocols intended to become a Honduran national standard of practice. Cruz Roja Hondureña received the RIT donated neonatal ambulance, onboard medical equipment, and supplies in September 2022. Implementation of this ambulance directly tackles UN SDG 3 and its Every Woman, Every Child initiative to accomplish the Global Strategy objective ‘Survive, Thrive and Transform.’ Service contributes to the achievement of Maternal Newborn and Child Health programming initiatives that address the World Health Organization’s Millennium Development Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality. Performance studies of this first-generation prototype are underway, outcomes will inform future protocol and design revisions for global scalability. As a Fulbright Specialist and lead Project Investigator, I will report to conference attendees the preliminary findings from our effectiveness study evaluating (1) Proof of Concept (2) Proof of Service and (3) Evolution of Patient Care.