Assessment of Local Health Worker Attitudes toward International Medical Volunteers in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Global Survey

Authors

Crystal Bae^{1, *}, Nehal Naik², Monika Misak², Sean L. Barnes^3, , Avelino C. Verceles⁴, Alfred Papali^{5, 6}, Michael T. McCurdy⁴, Lia I. Losonczy^{2, 7, †}

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

²Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C., USA

³Department of Decision, Operations & Information Technologies, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, MD, USA

⁴Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

⁵Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC, USA

⁶Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

⁷Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C., USA

^†

Senior author.

^*Corresponding author. Email: baecrystal@gmail.com

DOI

10.2991/jegh.k.200605.001How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Global health; international medicine; international medical volunteers

Abstract

Background: International Medical Volunteers (IMVs) positively and negatively impact host countries, and the goals of their trips may not always align with the interests of the hosts in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). We sought to better understand local physicians’ interest of hosting IMVs and what type of support they desired.

Methods: This study was a convenience sample survey-based needs assessment. The surveys were distributed to local physicians by 28 professional society groups in LMICs.

Findings: A total of 102 physicians from 51 countries completed the survey. Despite 61.8% participants having no experience with IMVs, 75% were interested in hosting them. Host physicians most desired clinical education (39%), research collaboration (18%), and Systems Development (11%). The most requested specialties were obstetrics and gynecology (25%) and emergency medicine (11%). Respondents considered public hospitals (62%) to be the most helpful clinical setting in which IMVs could work, and 3 months (47%) as the ideal length of stay.

Respondents expressed interest in advertising the specific needs of the host country to potential IMVs (80%). Qualitative analyses suggested hosts wanted more training opportunities, inclusion of all stakeholders, culturally competent volunteers, and aid focused on subspecialty education, health policy, public health, and research.

Conclusion: Hosts desire more bidirectional clinical education and research capacity building than just direct clinical care. Importantly, cultural competence is key to a successful host partnership, potentially improved through IMV preparation. Finally, respondents want IMVs to ensure that they stay within their scope of practice and training.

Copyright

© 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Crystal Bae
AU  - Nehal Naik
AU  - Monika Misak
AU  - Sean L. Barnes
AU  - Avelino C. Verceles
AU  - Alfred Papali
AU  - Michael T. McCurdy
AU  - Lia I. Losonczy
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/06/13
TI  - Assessment of Local Health Worker Attitudes toward International Medical Volunteers in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Global Survey
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 230
EP  - 235
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jegh.k.200605.001
DO  - 10.2991/jegh.k.200605.001
ID  - Bae2020
ER  -