Research/Technical Note | | Peer-Reviewed

Development of a Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture for Low-Resource Hospitals: A Yemen-Informed Clinical and Operational Framework

Received: 29 September 2026     Accepted: 15 October 2026     Published: 29 October 2026
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Abstract

Background: Acute-care delivery in resource-constrained hospitals requires two distinct judgments: what the patient clinically requires and what the facility can safely deliver at the present time. Existing triage, severity, early-warning, and syndrome-specific tools address important components of this problem but do not constitute a single operational architecture for capability matching, escalation, referral, and reassessment. Objective: To develop a testable Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture (RAACA) that integrates established clinical assessment functions with a time-stamped representation of facility capability while preserving the independence of clinical risk assessment. Methods: This conceptual framework was developed through targeted evidence mapping of WHO emergency-care resources and peer-reviewed literature on emergency care, triage, deterioration assessment, and prehospital systems in low- and middle-income countries. Requirements were extracted, mapped to a seven-layer patient journey, and synthesized into explicit constructs, decision rules, operational states, and a prospective validation pathway. RAACA does not introduce a composite clinical score. Instead, it proposes a four-state operational capability taxonomy (R0–R3) and a structured capability-mismatch process. Results: RAACA comprises seven linked layers: (1) acuity/triage, (2) immediate physiologic threat, (3) severity and deterioration, (4) syndrome-specific risk, (5) required and available capability, (6) operational disposition and referral, and (7) reassessment and quality feedback. The architecture separates patient state, system state, and operational decision, and treats referral/transfer as a clinical risk-control process. R0–R3 is explicitly defined as an unvalidated operational construct rather than a severity or mortality score. Conclusions: RAACA provides a testable architecture for coordinating validated clinical tools with changing facility capability. Its principal research question is whether resource-state classification can be assigned reproducibly, represent actual capability, and improve predefined process measures without altering clinical risk classification. Prospective multicentre validation is required before clinical effectiveness can be inferred.

Published in Science Journal of Clinical Medicine (Volume 15, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11
Page(s) 27-42
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Acute Care, Emergency Medicine, Resource-Constrained Hospitals, Triage, Clinical Decision Support, Health Systems, Referral, Transfer

References
[1] World Health Organization. WHO Emergency Care System Framework. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018.
[2] World Health Organization. Emergency Care Toolkit. Geneva: World Health Organization.
[3] World Health Organization. Interagency Integrated Triage Tool. Geneva: World Health Organization.
[4] Obermeyer Z, Abujaber S, Makar M, Stoll S, Kayden SR, Wallis LA, Reynolds TA; Acute Care Development Consortium. Emergency care in 59 low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Bull World Health Organ. 2015; 93(8): 577-586.
[5] Jenson A, Hansoti B, Rothman R, de Ramirez SS, Lobner K, Wallis L. Reliability and validity of emergency department triage tools in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Eur J Emerg Med. 2018; 25(3): 154-160.
[6] Mitchell R, Fang W, Tee QW, O’Reilly G, Romero L, Mitchell R, Bornstein S, Cameron P. Systematic review: What is the impact of triage implementation on clinical outcomes and process measures in low- and middle-income country emergency departments? Acad Emerg Med. 2024; 31(2): 164-182.
[7] Tomás E, Ulica E, Alves C, Pascoal C, Jeremias A, Escoval A, Antunes ML. Effectiveness of early warning scores in predicting in-hospital mortality and adverse events in adult general-ward patients in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Afr J Emerg Med. 2026; 16(1): 100943.
[8] Bhattarai HK, Bhusal S, Barone-Adesi F, Hubloue I. Prehospital Emergency Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2023; 38(4): 495-512.
[9] World Health Organization. Yemen: WHO Health Emergency Appeal 2026. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2026.
[10] World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross. Basic Emergency Care: Approach to the Acutely Ill and Injured. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018.
[11] Zachariasse JM, van der Hagen V, Seiger N, Mackway-Jones K, van Veen M, Moll HA. Performance of triage systems in emergency care: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2019; 9: e026471.
[12] World Health Organization. EQuIP: establishing clinical quality improvement programmes. Geneva: World Health Organization. Available from:
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  • APA Style

    Al-Sarem, K. G. H. M. (2026). Development of a Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture for Low-Resource Hospitals: A Yemen-Informed Clinical and Operational Framework. Science Journal of Clinical Medicine, 15(3), 27-42. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11

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    ACS Style

    Al-Sarem, K. G. H. M. Development of a Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture for Low-Resource Hospitals: A Yemen-Informed Clinical and Operational Framework. Sci. J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(3), 27-42. doi: 10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11

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    AMA Style

    Al-Sarem KGHM. Development of a Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture for Low-Resource Hospitals: A Yemen-Informed Clinical and Operational Framework. Sci J Clin Med. 2026;15(3):27-42. doi: 10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11,
      author = {Khalil Gamil Hasan Mohammed Al-Sarem},
      title = {Development of a Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture for Low-Resource Hospitals: 
    A Yemen-Informed Clinical and Operational Framework},
      journal = {Science Journal of Clinical Medicine},
      volume = {15},
      number = {3},
      pages = {27-42},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjcm.20261503.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjcm.20261503.11},
      abstract = {Background: Acute-care delivery in resource-constrained hospitals requires two distinct judgments: what the patient clinically requires and what the facility can safely deliver at the present time. Existing triage, severity, early-warning, and syndrome-specific tools address important components of this problem but do not constitute a single operational architecture for capability matching, escalation, referral, and reassessment. Objective: To develop a testable Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture (RAACA) that integrates established clinical assessment functions with a time-stamped representation of facility capability while preserving the independence of clinical risk assessment. Methods: This conceptual framework was developed through targeted evidence mapping of WHO emergency-care resources and peer-reviewed literature on emergency care, triage, deterioration assessment, and prehospital systems in low- and middle-income countries. Requirements were extracted, mapped to a seven-layer patient journey, and synthesized into explicit constructs, decision rules, operational states, and a prospective validation pathway. RAACA does not introduce a composite clinical score. Instead, it proposes a four-state operational capability taxonomy (R0–R3) and a structured capability-mismatch process. Results: RAACA comprises seven linked layers: (1) acuity/triage, (2) immediate physiologic threat, (3) severity and deterioration, (4) syndrome-specific risk, (5) required and available capability, (6) operational disposition and referral, and (7) reassessment and quality feedback. The architecture separates patient state, system state, and operational decision, and treats referral/transfer as a clinical risk-control process. R0–R3 is explicitly defined as an unvalidated operational construct rather than a severity or mortality score. Conclusions: RAACA provides a testable architecture for coordinating validated clinical tools with changing facility capability. Its principal research question is whether resource-state classification can be assigned reproducibly, represent actual capability, and improve predefined process measures without altering clinical risk classification. Prospective multicentre validation is required before clinical effectiveness can be inferred.},
     year = {2026}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Development of a Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture for Low-Resource Hospitals: 
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    AB  - Background: Acute-care delivery in resource-constrained hospitals requires two distinct judgments: what the patient clinically requires and what the facility can safely deliver at the present time. Existing triage, severity, early-warning, and syndrome-specific tools address important components of this problem but do not constitute a single operational architecture for capability matching, escalation, referral, and reassessment. Objective: To develop a testable Resource-Adaptive Acute Care Architecture (RAACA) that integrates established clinical assessment functions with a time-stamped representation of facility capability while preserving the independence of clinical risk assessment. Methods: This conceptual framework was developed through targeted evidence mapping of WHO emergency-care resources and peer-reviewed literature on emergency care, triage, deterioration assessment, and prehospital systems in low- and middle-income countries. Requirements were extracted, mapped to a seven-layer patient journey, and synthesized into explicit constructs, decision rules, operational states, and a prospective validation pathway. RAACA does not introduce a composite clinical score. Instead, it proposes a four-state operational capability taxonomy (R0–R3) and a structured capability-mismatch process. Results: RAACA comprises seven linked layers: (1) acuity/triage, (2) immediate physiologic threat, (3) severity and deterioration, (4) syndrome-specific risk, (5) required and available capability, (6) operational disposition and referral, and (7) reassessment and quality feedback. The architecture separates patient state, system state, and operational decision, and treats referral/transfer as a clinical risk-control process. R0–R3 is explicitly defined as an unvalidated operational construct rather than a severity or mortality score. Conclusions: RAACA provides a testable architecture for coordinating validated clinical tools with changing facility capability. Its principal research question is whether resource-state classification can be assigned reproducibly, represent actual capability, and improve predefined process measures without altering clinical risk classification. Prospective multicentre validation is required before clinical effectiveness can be inferred.
    VL  - 15
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Author Information
  • Department of Pediatrics, Al-Sabeen Hospital, Sana’a, Yemen;Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, 21 September University for Medical and Applied Sciences, Sana'a, Yemen

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