Perceptions and Efficiency of Short-Term Medical Aid Missions Among Key Groups of Health Professionals

Abstract

This study investigated the perceptions of short-term assignments of medical services among participating health care professionals dispatched from Taiwan to underdeveloped areas. Structured questionnaires were mailed to four groups of professionals (physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and public health personnel) who had participated in any of 88 medical missions dispatched to 24 allied nations. A total of 278 returns were valid for analysis. Among them, 222 respondents reported that they had participated in just one overseas medical mission (79.9%). The majority of physicians, pharmacists, and nurses listed humanitarianism as their foremost incentive for participation. In contrast, public health personnel most frequently reported that they had been assigned to the mission abroad. Pharmacists, nurses, and public health personnel most commonly stated that their top goal was health care; but physicians said that aiding Taiwan’s diplomatic relations was their main motive. While all groups generally recognized language proficiency and cultural awareness as important for conducting successful short-term medical aid missions (STMMs), many members of groups did not rate their own capabilities in those area as sufficient, especially pharmacists (p < .001). Orientation for participants and training for local health workers were seen as relatively insufficient. In conclusion, there are considerable differences in the thoughts about STMMs across four key groups of heath personnel. The findings can help inform efforts to integrate evidence into the deployment of STMMs.

Keywords

medical aid perception language health professional culture

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bajkiewicz

(2009). Evaluating short-term missions: How can we improve? Journal of Christian Nursing, 26, 110–114.

Bishop

Litch

J. A.

(2000). Medical tourism can do harm. British Medical Journal, 320, 1017.

Bjerneld

Lindmark

Diskett

Garrett

M. J.

(2004). Perceptions of work in humanitarian assistance: Interviews with returning Swedish health professionals. Disaster Management & Response, 2, 101–108.

Bjerneld

Lindmark

McSpadden

L. A.

Garrett

M. J.

(2006). Motivations, concerns, and expectations of Scandinavian health professionals volunteering for humanitarian assignments. Disaster Management & Response, 4, 49–58.

Bussieres

J. F.

St-Arnaud

Schunck

Lamarre

Jouberton

(2000). The role of the pharmacist in humanitarian aid in Bosnia-Herzegovina: The experience of Pharmaciens Sans Frontieres. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 34, 112–118.

Chan

(1997) Taiwan as an emerging foreign aid donor: Developments, problems, and prospects. Pacific Affairs, 70, 37–56.

Dupuis

C. C.

(2006). Smaller teams for humanitarian missions in the third world. Plasict and Reconstructive Surgery, 117, 1041–1042.

Green

Scandlyn

Kestler

(2009). Perceptions of short-term medical volunteer work: A qualitative study in Guatemala. Global Health, 5, 4.

Hill

P. S.

(2002). The rhetoric of sector-wide approaches for health development. Social Science & Medicine, 54, 1725–1737.

10.

Hunt

M. R.

(2009). Strengths and challenges in the use of interpretive description: Reflections arising from a study of the moral experience of health professionals in humanitarian work. Qualitative Health Research, 19, 1284–1292.

11.

Hunt

M. R.

(2011). Establishing moral bearings: Ethics and expatriate health care professionals in humanitarian work. Disasters, 35, 606–622.

12.

Jesus

J. E.

(2010). Ethical challenges and considerations of short-term international medical initiatives: An excursion to Ghana as a case study. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 55, 17–22.

13.

Johnson

C. A.

Stieglitz

Schroeder

M. E.

(2009). Opportunities and responsibilities for pharmacists on short-term medical mission teams. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 49, 801–807.

14.

Khan

O. A.

Pietroni

Cravioto

(2010). Global health education: International collaboration at ICDDR, B. Journal of Health Population and Nutrition, 28, 533–536.

15.

Kickbusch

(2011). Global health diplomacy: How foreign policy can influence health. British Medical Journal, 342, d3154.

16.

Maki

Qualls

White

Kleefield

Crone

(2008). Health impact assessment and short-term medical missions: A methods study to evaluate quality of care. BMC Health Services Research, 8, 121.

17.

Mitka

(2005). Volunteering overseas gives physicians a measure of adventure and altruism. Journal of American Medical Association, 294, 671–672.

18.

Mulvaney

S. W.

McBeth

(2009). Medical humanitarian missions. American Family Physician, 79, 359–360.

19.

Murray

J. S.

(1999). Pediatric nursing health care delivery plan for humanitarian missions in developing countries. Pediatric Nursing, 25, 387–392.

20.

Nelson

B. D.

Lee

A. C.

Newby

P. K.

Chamberlin

M. R.

Huang

C. C.

(2008). Global health training in pediatric residency programs. Pediatrics, 122, 28–33.

21.

Panosian

Coates

T. J.

(2006). The new medical “missionaries”—Grooming the next generation of global health workers. The New England Journal of Medicine, 354, 1771–1773.

22.

Pezzella

A. T.

(2006). Volunteerism and humanitarian efforts in surgery. Current Problems in Surgery, 43, 848–929.

23.

Snyder

Dharamsi

Crooks

V. A.

(2011). Fly-By medical care: Conceptualizing the global and local social responsibilities of medical tourists and physician voluntourists. Global Health, 7, 6.

24.

Solheim

(2010) Third world humanitarian medical trips—Are they safe? Journal of Emergency Nursing, 36, 67–70.

25.

Suchdev

Ahrens

Click

Macklin

Evangelista

Graham

(2007). A model for sustainable short-term international medical trips. Ambulatory Pediatrics, 7, 317–320.

26.

Sundewall

Forsberg

B. C.

Tomson

(2006). Theory and practice—A case study of coordination and ownership in the Bangladesh health SWAp. Health Research Policy Systems, 4, 5.

27.

Thompson

M. J.

Huntington

M. K.

Hunt

D. D.

Pinsky

L. E.

Brodie

J. J.

(2003). Educational effects of international health electives on U.S. and Canadian medical students and residents: A literature review. Academic Medicine, 78, 342–347.

28.

Tubilewicz

Guilloux

(2011). Dose size matter? Foreign aid in Taiwan’s diplomatic strategy, 2000-8. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 65, 322–339.

29.

Walsh

D. S.

(2004). A framework for short-term humanitarian health care projects. International Nursing Review, 51, 23–26.

30.

Wolfberg

A. J.

(2006). Volunteering overseas—Lessons from surgical brigades. The New England Journal of Medicine, 354, 443–445.