LAUSR

Dear Editor, We read the article with great interest by Turner and Duffy entitled “Orthopaedic and trauma care in low-resource settings: the burden and its challenges” [1]. It encompassed a comprehensive discussion on the healthcare disparities that impact the quality and availability of care for patients after a traumatic injury in low-income settings. This letter posits additional solutions to further the discussion provided by this article. A lack of adequate medical equipment was identified as a barrier to providing care in low-income regions. Even if the equipment is donated, a maintenance checklist, functioning materials, and trained professionals are required. Secondary to these barriers, the possibility of manufacturing medical equipment within the nation to reduce costs, increase provisions, and provide more intuitive training to the nation’s healthcare professionals is needed. There are assessment tools to determine the barriers and corresponding solutions to building a local manufacturing facility in these nations [2]. These tools allow stakeholders and professionals in the region to increase trauma equipment and professional training while reducing costs. Building capacity and inter-relations between institutions from high-income and low-income nations was another barrier discussed in this article. Physicians from low-income regions training with those from wealthier countries will not lead to a sustainable outcome if they are only learning what the developed nations are practicing. Therefore, efforts to tailor their training by incorporating resources only available to them in those low-income regions should be made [3]. Furthermore, if these physicians were to collaborate multiple times, they can improve upon the solutions with each attempt due to a strengthened connection between the parties. Eventually, the foundation of partnership between physicians and stakeholders from high and low-income regions can expand opportunities from one low-income region to multiple low-income regions. This can be done by establishing an infrastructure to collect and share data between these institutions regarding sustainable healthcare practices, health outcomes, and continued challenges [4]. Lastly, this article highlights the social impact of having disabilities and limb deformities, either congenitally or posttrauma. While shining a light on their conditions and bringing public awareness to the situation is needed, this issue cannot be tackled using mainly methods employed in western nations. These nations may not primarily use allopathic medicine for treatments, so establishing partnerships with local non-allopathic physicians in these countries would be a beneficial relationship in reducing the stigma for patients. For example, in India, patients may be more receptive to Ayurvedic practices rather than conventional Western medicine [5]. Moreover, bringing those individuals with marked disabilities, who are still leading functional lives, into the conversation may greatly reduce the stigma of having a disability and garner support from other individuals with shared experiences. They can also speak to the nuances of how to function with their disabilities in their specific countries in a way that Western philosophy cannot articulate [6].