Perceived Roles of Selected Biomedical Engineering Technologies in Healthcare Delivery: A Survey of Engineers in Rivers State, Nigeria
Abstract
Abstract Healthcare facilities in Rivers State frequently experience downtime of modern biomedical devices such as point-of-care diagnostic tools, portable ultrasound machines, and telemedicine platforms. However, empirical evidence on stakeholder perceptions of their roles in healthcare delivery remains limited. This gap motivated a study on the perceived roles of selected biomedical engineering technologies in healthcare delivery in Rivers State, Nigeria. Guided by three objectives, research questions, and null hypotheses, the study adopted a descriptive survey design. The accessible population comprised 53 respondents: from two colleges of health science and six government hospitals. A census was used due to the small. Data were collected using a 30-item questionnaire, “Biomedical Engineering Technologies in Healthcare Delivery Questionnaire, BETHDQ,” validated by three experts and yielding a Cronbach’s Alpha of .75. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and independent samples ttest at .05 significance with mean ≥ 3.50 as the decision rule for agreement. Findings showed that respondents perceived point-of-care diagnostics, portable ultrasound, and telemedicine as significantly contributing to healthcare delivery. No significant difference existed between lecturers and clinical engineers, though t-tests for ultrasound, t(51) = 1.954, p = .056, and telemedicine, t(51) = 1.913, p = .061, indicated marginal differences with medium effect sizes. Recommendations include integrating maintenance and calibration of point-of-care tools into NBTE curricula, providing hands-on ultrasound calibration training at technical colleges, and establishing internships and on-the-job training in telemedicine hardware and network maintenance by Rivers State Government and hospitals.