International Multi-Site Gap Analysis Study to Identify Areas of Health Service Needs in Short-Term Medical Missions
Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
Gap analysis, medical missions, health services
Abstract
Purpose: To identify and assess the needs of health care services in global medical missions.
Methods: Every year, many health care professionals and their students travel abroad to developing countries to provide health care services to the under-served, indigent, and under-insured populations through medical missions. The large number and wide scope of these medical mission trips begs the question as to how effective these services are meeting the health care needs of these populations. A literature search in Pubmed, IPA, CINAHL and Cochrane indicated that there is a large gap in the literature evaluating the suitability of mission services in developing countries. A prospective cross-sectional observational multi-site study was then conducted. The sites included India, Honduras, Jamaica, Swaziland, Togo, Malawi, Cambodia, and the Dominican Republic. The study began in January 2014 and continued through April 2014. Cedarville University faculty from Pharmacy (7), Nursing (4), and Missions Involvement Services (MIS-1) were selected and interviewed based on medical missions’ involvement. The primary and secondary endpoints were to identify services needed by the patients, then for the sites and the teams accordingly. A questionnaire consisting of five items was created for this assessment: Missions location, services for patients, resources for patient/caregivers, sites, and teams were evaluated. Interviews were set up and completed according to the study time line.
Results: Patient education (81.8%) was identified as the most important health care need followed by transportation (36.4%). Pharmacist Intervention and reference materials were identified as the key needs for the sites (72.7%) followed by education for health care workers (54.5%). Education and preparation were the most important needs for the teams. Many of these needs overlapped between locations.
Conclusion: Evidently patient education is a paramount need for the sites assessed. Additionally, funding to support these missions is integral for patient care. The results of this need assessment study will be used to fill the literature gap in this area and seek funding opportunities for the services.
Faculty Sponsor or Advisor’s Name
Dr. Miriam Ansong
Campus Venue
Stevens Student Center
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-1-2015 11:00 AM
End Date
4-1-2015 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
International Multi-Site Gap Analysis Study to Identify Areas of Health Service Needs in Short-Term Medical Missions
Cedarville, OH
Purpose: To identify and assess the needs of health care services in global medical missions.
Methods: Every year, many health care professionals and their students travel abroad to developing countries to provide health care services to the under-served, indigent, and under-insured populations through medical missions. The large number and wide scope of these medical mission trips begs the question as to how effective these services are meeting the health care needs of these populations. A literature search in Pubmed, IPA, CINAHL and Cochrane indicated that there is a large gap in the literature evaluating the suitability of mission services in developing countries. A prospective cross-sectional observational multi-site study was then conducted. The sites included India, Honduras, Jamaica, Swaziland, Togo, Malawi, Cambodia, and the Dominican Republic. The study began in January 2014 and continued through April 2014. Cedarville University faculty from Pharmacy (7), Nursing (4), and Missions Involvement Services (MIS-1) were selected and interviewed based on medical missions’ involvement. The primary and secondary endpoints were to identify services needed by the patients, then for the sites and the teams accordingly. A questionnaire consisting of five items was created for this assessment: Missions location, services for patients, resources for patient/caregivers, sites, and teams were evaluated. Interviews were set up and completed according to the study time line.
Results: Patient education (81.8%) was identified as the most important health care need followed by transportation (36.4%). Pharmacist Intervention and reference materials were identified as the key needs for the sites (72.7%) followed by education for health care workers (54.5%). Education and preparation were the most important needs for the teams. Many of these needs overlapped between locations.
Conclusion: Evidently patient education is a paramount need for the sites assessed. Additionally, funding to support these missions is integral for patient care. The results of this need assessment study will be used to fill the literature gap in this area and seek funding opportunities for the services.
