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***Prior to this section is a very underdeveloped lead section as well as the common motivations of volunteers to perform such work***
Ethics:
Medical volunteering has generally been praised as the “ethical imperative to serve the disadvantaged”.[1] Medical volunteers may have good intentions and aid beneficiaries may be grateful for their help. Yet, scholars have explored the significant drawbacks of such volunteerism.[2]
Short term medical volunteerism abroad, often in developing countries, is sometimes criticized as medical voluntourism.[3][4][5][6][7] While millions of individuals depend on the free assistance offered through medical volunteer work, such activities are criticized when compared to the alternative notion of sustainable capacities, i.e., work done in the context of long-term, locally-run, and foreign-supported infrastructures.[7] A preponderance of this criticism appears largely in scientific and peer-reviewed literature.[8][9][10] Recently, media outlets with more general readerships have published such criticisms as well.[11]
Local communities often voice concerns regarding the transient nature of international medical groups, whose presence is often perceived as convenient but fleeting.[2] These missions typically last between one week to two months, limiting their impact as they can only attend to a fraction of patients within a short timeframe. This brief interaction impedes the establishment of meaningful patient-provider relationships, which are crucial for effective treatment.[2] Moreover, inadequate communication prior to the arrival of these groups causes stress for patients who struggle to plan accordingly. Services being provided during the day may necessitate time off work, which is difficult to arrange at short notice.
Local healthcare teams also encounter challenges due to limited notice, hindering their ability to relay information to patients and adequately prepare to assist foreign teams as required.[2] Additionally, ethical concerns arise from the lack of experience and training among volunteers. Despite their well intentioned efforts, many volunteers lack certification, potentially endangering already vulnerable patients. There is also the risk that volunteers may exploit the desperate need for assistance in under-served countries as an opportunity to gain hands-on experience.[12]
Considering long-term consequences, the provision of free services by international groups may foster dependency on foreign aid and alleviate pressure on local authorities to address systemic gaps in healthcare access.[2] By implementing responses to criticism, medical volunteering can be improved or transformed to better suit the community at hand.
***Following this section on ethics, the article goes into types of medical volunteer work***
- ^ Scott, H. Denman; Bell, Johanna; Geller, Stephanie; Thomas, Melinda (2000-01-05). "Physicians Helping the UnderservedThe Reach Out Program". JAMA. 283 (1): 99–104. doi:10.1001/jama.283.1.99. ISSN 0098-7484. PMID 10632287.
- ^ a b c d e Nouvet, Elysée; Chan, Elizabeth; Schwartz, Lisa J. (2018-04-03). "Looking good but doing harm? Perceptions of short-term medical missions in Nicaragua". Global Public Health. 13 (4): 456–472. doi:10.1080/17441692.2016.1220610. ISSN 1744-1692.
- ^ "The Future of Voluntourism", Ours to Explore, Potomac Books, pp. 163–178, 2021-06-01, doi:10.2307/j.ctv1k76jn5.17, S2CID 242372461, retrieved 2021-10-19
- ^ McLennan, Sharon (2014-04-01). "Medical voluntourism in Honduras: 'Helping' the poor?". Progress in Development Studies. 14 (2): 163–179. doi:10.1177/1464993413517789. ISSN 1464-9934. S2CID 144772758.
- ^ McCall, Daniel; Iltis, Ana S. (2014-12-01). "Health Care Voluntourism: Addressing Ethical Concerns of Undergraduate Student Participation in Global Health Volunteer Work". HEC Forum. 26 (4): 285–297. doi:10.1007/s10730-014-9243-7. ISSN 1572-8498. PMID 25079381. S2CID 27467732.
- ^ Ruffin, Madeline C. (May 2016). Ethical Considerations in Medical Voluntourism: Application to Speech-Language Pathology (Thesis). University of Maine.
- ^ a b Bauer, Irmgard (2017-03-06). "More harm than good? The questionable ethics of medical volunteering and international student placements". Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and Vaccines. 3: 5. doi:10.1186/s40794-017-0048-y. ISSN 2055-0936. PMC 5531079. PMID 28883975.
- ^ Bezruchka, S. (2000). Medical Tourism as Medical Harm to the Third World: Why? For Whom? Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 11, 77–78.
- ^ Roberts, M. (2006). Duffle Bag Medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association, 295, 1491–1492.
- ^ Pinto, A.D., & Upshur, R.E.G. (2009). Global Health Ethics for Students. Developing World Bioethics, 9, 1–10.
- ^ Thompson, Jamie (4 November 2016). "Think looking after turtles in Costa Rica for three weeks is good for your CV? Think again". The Conversation. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ^ McKay, Ramah (2020). "Global health's durable dreams: ethnography, 'community health workers' and health without health infrastructure". Africa. 90 (1): 95–111. doi:10.1017/S0001972019000950. ISSN 0001-9720.