Wetzel J1, Potter C2, Bieber-Parrott C1, Rodenbaugh T1
1Youngstown State University, Physical Therapy, Youngstown, United States, 2Honduras Hope Mission, Inc., Bakerstown, United States
Background: Approximately 40% of all health care in Honduras is provided by non-governmental organizations(NGO) with the average mission lasting one week.1 There are limited reports on the effectiveness, adequacy of services and resources offered by medical mission teams.2 A feasible assessment process may assist the mission teams in collecting useful data to direct medical talent and resources.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use perspectives of a medical mission team to develop an assessment process to inform adequacy of resources.
Methods: A non-profit organization [501(c) recruited twenty-three volunteers for a week long medical mission to rural Honduras. The volunteers completed pre and post-trip surveys with questions asking about priority health concerns, most valuable treatments, unmanaged health issues and future support needed to attain the outcomes of the NGO. The open ended survey responses were analyzed qualitatively using both expected (based on prior knowledge) and emerging codings gleaned from the responses.
The codes were then synthesized into themes. Findings were presented to the medical mission board who determined feasibility of providing specific interventions based on cost, transportation, accessibility and perceived importance for the community served. This analysis process resulted in the development of a data collection tool able to prioritize resources and inform composition and training of volunteers.
Results: Top health problems anticipated before the trip were poorly managed lifestyle diseases (diabetes and hypertension), mosquito-borne diseases (zika, malaria and chikungunya), parasitic illnesses caused by unclean water and musculoskeletal conditions. Following the trip, high birth rate and teen pregnancy emerged as important health concerns.
Staff reported limitations in;
1) medication supplies,
2) managing long term illnesses like cerebral palsy,
3) comprehensive eye examinations, and
4) adequate dental care. Participants recommended blood work, optometry personnel, medications and medical supplies for chronic conditions, birth control, and more dentists. The board identified feasible improvements for future trips as;
1) increasing availability of medications,
2) supplies for diabetes screenings,
3) inclusion of an optometrist along with eye glasses, and dental services visiting more remote locations.
The qualitative data analysis of the above findings resulted in identification of priority items for use in an assessment tool to determine critically important areas. The tool asks participants to define how well (using a likert scale) each item was achieved by the team. Participants also rate the importance of each item (using a likert scale). The intersection of achievement and importance for each item informs the NGO which are most critical and quality achieved. The NGO can use the information for identifying team composition and focusing requests for grant funding. The intersection of achievement and importance also guides the elimination of interventions not important. By including the parameter of importance, the tool can track change over time to redirect resources.
Conclusion(s): Development of a formal assessment process defines resources and personnel to identify critical needs and adequacy of resources.
Implications: The assessment process we developed provides NGOs with the ability to identify current needs for attaining mission outcomes but also provides a means to direct future efforts and support grant applications to attain resources to address these needs.
Keywords: Medical mission, collaborative care, global health assessment
Funding acknowledgements: None
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use perspectives of a medical mission team to develop an assessment process to inform adequacy of resources.
Methods: A non-profit organization [501(c) recruited twenty-three volunteers for a week long medical mission to rural Honduras. The volunteers completed pre and post-trip surveys with questions asking about priority health concerns, most valuable treatments, unmanaged health issues and future support needed to attain the outcomes of the NGO. The open ended survey responses were analyzed qualitatively using both expected (based on prior knowledge) and emerging codings gleaned from the responses.
The codes were then synthesized into themes. Findings were presented to the medical mission board who determined feasibility of providing specific interventions based on cost, transportation, accessibility and perceived importance for the community served. This analysis process resulted in the development of a data collection tool able to prioritize resources and inform composition and training of volunteers.
Results: Top health problems anticipated before the trip were poorly managed lifestyle diseases (diabetes and hypertension), mosquito-borne diseases (zika, malaria and chikungunya), parasitic illnesses caused by unclean water and musculoskeletal conditions. Following the trip, high birth rate and teen pregnancy emerged as important health concerns.
Staff reported limitations in;
1) medication supplies,
2) managing long term illnesses like cerebral palsy,
3) comprehensive eye examinations, and
4) adequate dental care. Participants recommended blood work, optometry personnel, medications and medical supplies for chronic conditions, birth control, and more dentists. The board identified feasible improvements for future trips as;
1) increasing availability of medications,
2) supplies for diabetes screenings,
3) inclusion of an optometrist along with eye glasses, and dental services visiting more remote locations.
The qualitative data analysis of the above findings resulted in identification of priority items for use in an assessment tool to determine critically important areas. The tool asks participants to define how well (using a likert scale) each item was achieved by the team. Participants also rate the importance of each item (using a likert scale). The intersection of achievement and importance for each item informs the NGO which are most critical and quality achieved. The NGO can use the information for identifying team composition and focusing requests for grant funding. The intersection of achievement and importance also guides the elimination of interventions not important. By including the parameter of importance, the tool can track change over time to redirect resources.
Conclusion(s): Development of a formal assessment process defines resources and personnel to identify critical needs and adequacy of resources.
Implications: The assessment process we developed provides NGOs with the ability to identify current needs for attaining mission outcomes but also provides a means to direct future efforts and support grant applications to attain resources to address these needs.
Keywords: Medical mission, collaborative care, global health assessment
Funding acknowledgements: None
Topic: Globalisation: health systems, policies & strategies; Professional issues; Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Youngstown State University
Ethics committee: Human Subjects/Institutional Review Board YSU
Reason not required: Survey process that did not entail intervention or risks to volunteers.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
