PMID- 33757942
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20210519
LR  - 20220531
IS  - 2044-6055 (Electronic)
IS  - 2044-6055 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 3
DP  - 2021 Mar 23
TI  - Experiences and impact of international medical volunteering: a multi-country 
      mixed methods study.
PG  - e041599
LID - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041599 [doi]
LID - e041599
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the experience and impact of medical volunteers who 
      facilitated training workshops for healthcare providers in maternal and newborn 
      emergency care in 13 countries. SETTINGS: Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, 
      Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, UK and 
      Zimbabwe. PARTICIPANTS: Medical volunteers from the UK (n=162) and from 
      low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) (n=138). OUTCOME MEASURES: 
      Expectations, experience, views, personal and professional impact of the 
      experience of volunteering on medical volunteers based in the UK and in LMIC. 
      RESULTS: UK-based medical volunteers (n=38) were interviewed using focus group 
      discussions (n=12) and key informant interviews (n=26). 262 volunteers (UK-based 
      n=124 (47.3%), and LMIC-based n=138 (52.7%)) responded to the online survey (62% 
      response rate), covering 506 volunteering episodes. UK-based medical volunteers 
      were motivated by altruism, and perceived volunteering as a valuable opportunity 
      to develop their skills in leadership, teaching and communication, skills 
      reported to be transferable to their home workplace. Medical volunteers based in 
      the UK and in LMIC (n=244) reported increased confidence (98%, n=239); improved 
      teamwork (95%, n=232); strengthened leadership skills (90%, n=220); and reported 
      that volunteering had a positive impact for the host country (96%, n=234) and 
      healthcare providers trained (99%, n=241); formed sustainable partnerships (97%, 
      n=237); promoted multidisciplinary team working (98%, n=239); and was a good use 
      of resources (98%, n=239). Medical volunteers based in LMIC reported higher 
      satisfaction scores than those from the UK with regards to impact on personal and 
      professional development. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers from the UK and LMIC 
      are highly motivated to volunteer to increase local healthcare providers' 
      knowledge and skills in low-resource settings. Further research is necessary to 
      understand the experiences of local partners and communities regarding how the 
      impact of international medical volunteering can be mutually beneficial and 
      sustainable with measurable outcomes.
CI  - (c) Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No 
      commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
FAU - McCauley, Mary
AU  - McCauley M
AD  - Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, 
      Liverpool, UK mary.mccauley@lwh.nhs.uk.
FAU - Raven, Joanna
AU  - Raven J
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4112-6959
AD  - International Public Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, 
      UK.
FAU - van den Broek, Nynke
AU  - van den Broek N
AD  - Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, 
      Liverpool, UK.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20210323
PL  - England
TA  - BMJ Open
JT  - BMJ open
JID - 101552874
SB  - IM
MH  - Bangladesh
MH  - Ghana
MH  - Humans
MH  - India
MH  - Kenya
MH  - Malawi
MH  - Namibia
MH  - Nigeria
MH  - Pakistan
MH  - Sierra Leone
MH  - South Africa
MH  - Tanzania
MH  - *Volunteers
MH  - Zimbabwe
PMC - PMC7993159
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - medical education & training
OT  - obstetrics
OT  - qualitative research
OT  - quality in health care
COIS- Competing interests: None declared.
EDAT- 2021/03/25 06:00
MHDA- 2021/05/20 06:00
PMCR- 2021/03/23
CRDT- 2021/03/24 06:03
PHST- 2021/03/24 06:03 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/03/25 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/05/20 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2021/03/23 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - bmjopen-2020-041599 [pii]
AID - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041599 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 23;11(3):e041599. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041599.