In spite of great progress in technology and economic growth, some communities around the globe continue to be deeply disadvantaged. Envision locations in Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, or Tanzania. In light this situation, 5-10-day international healthcare service trips continue to be popular. Post-pandemic, some 5,000 teams are traveling outside of North America each year for this very purpose, and many are scheduled to begin this fall.
Given the substantial investment of time and resources, what are some benefits of international short-term healthcare missions? Clearly people receive medical attention who may not otherwise receive care. Team participants enjoy opportunities to develop altruism and to express compassion. At times, teams contribute to reinforcing local healthcare infrastructures. And such experiences may also create a vision for the future. My two-week service trip to Haiti was pivotal to my two-month service in Honduras, and later to my two-year commitment in Angola.
On the balance, what are some shortcomings of short-term healthcare missions? Most frequently listed are lack of understanding local conditions, language, and culture. How could outsider visitors possibly appreciate these factors? Another concern is little provision for continuity of care. How would a newly diagnosed hypertensive or diabetic person, for example, be integrated into ongoing care? Finally, such healthcare missions rarely contribute to long-term solutions. Sustainable health improvement usually requires interventions to improve basic education, employment, and safe housing.
In light of these concerns, how can short-term healthcare missions become more effective? Consider two approaches:
• Build close partnerships with host nationals .
Under the guidance of local hosts, healthcare service is more likely to be culturally appropriate. Those who invited me to Angola, for example, counseled me to recommend parents feed their malnourished children eggs rather than meat, given how the latter was too expensive to afford. Under the guidance of local hosts, continuity of care is also more probable. My Angolan hosts introduced me to national primary care leaders who were eager to continue the one-year course of therapy for tuberculosis patients whom I identified.
Another virtue of building partnerships with host nationals is the opportunity within ourselves to develop humility and respect for others. One Angolan leader reassured me, “You will be successful in my country if you follow the New Testament teaching in Philippians 2:3-4, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
• Embrace continuity of commitment
The second time an outside healthcare professional returns to an earlier healthcare setting the obstacles are usually lower. Local culture is more familiar, continuity of care options are better known, travel logistics are less baffling, personal relationships with host nationals are more comfortable, and opportunities to make long-term contributions may be more fertile. Embracing a years-long commitment to a particular international community – even just one or two weeks each year – can also yield a deep sense of personal fulfillment and substantial professional assistance. With the launch of INMED in 2003, I no longer enjoyed capacity for long-term service in Angola. But for the next 16 years I returned annually to provide vacation coverage at Angola’s CEML Hospital.
Are short-term international healthcare missions beneficial? The answer is a qualified yes. When conducted under guidance of local hosts and with a spirit of long-term commitment this popular expression of compassion in action can be remarkably effective.