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The Impact of Short-Term Medical Missions on Health Care Sustainability in Low-Income and Developing Communities: A Systematic Review

A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / Short‐term surgical missions (STSMs) provide an opportunity for the global health care community to address the surgical needs of developing communities worldwide. Conditions that require a one‐time intervention, such as cleft lip and palate, clearly demonstrate the positive impact these short‐term missions can have on the individual patient. However, the long‐term impact on the local health care system, economy, and community is less clear. Many in the global health care community believe that STSMs should seek to have a long‐term impact by establishing sustainable health care programs. Information regarding the impact of STSMs is scarce, however, due to limited regulation, research, and data from short‐term missions. This study investigates how short‐term international missions impact health care sustainability in low‐income and developing communities. This study uses a systematic review to investigate the impact of STSMs on health care sustainability. Additional outcomes included education and skills‐transfer, cost‐effectiveness, and cultural awareness. 15 articles were included in the study. The following outcomes were found: sustainability in 9 studies, education and skills‐transfer in 5, cost‐effectiveness in 4, and cultural awareness in 3. STSMs can successfully establish sustainable programs abroad. Factors that contribute to this success include education and training of host providers, cost‐effective services, and cultural awareness. Understanding the complex dynamic between STSMs and developing communities is key to developing effective and sustainable programs that offer long‐term benefits to those communities.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/623467
Date10 May 2017
CreatorsLansky, Charlotte
ContributorsThe University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, Conklin‐Aguilera, Cody MD
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the College of Medicine - Phoenix, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.

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