SynthesisBMC health services research2015
A systematic review of social, economic and diplomatic aspects of short-term medical missions.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Development of a theoretical framework for assessment of quality of primary care medical service trips in Latin America.International journal of public health · 2019Pooled it
- Impact of short-term reconstructive surgical missions: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2019Pooled it
- International short-term medical missions: a systematic review of recommended practices.International journal of public health · 2017Pooled it
- Exploring the Interface Between International Nongovernmental Organizations and Local Vietnamese Hospitals in Cleft Care.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- "We will get to…assist the staff of the hospital": comparatively exploring the motivations of pre-medical and medical students from Global North countries for seeking to participate in Ghanaian medical missions.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Reconstructive Surgery and Training Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey.World journal of plastic surgery · 2024Article
- Analyzing complications and implementing solutions in a pediatric inguinal hernia cooperation program in Equatorial Guinea: a prospective cohort study.Annals of pediatric surgery · 2023Article
- Opportunities, barriers and expectations toward international voluntary medical missions among health trainees in Saudi Arabia.Sudanese journal of paediatrics · 2023Article
- Impact and Sustainability of Foreign Medical Aid: A Qualitative Study with Honduran Healthcare Providers.Annals of global health · 2023Article
- Article
- Guidelines for short-term medical missions: perspectives from host countries.Globalization and health · 2022Article
- Implementing electronic health records on a medical service trip improves the patient care process.Frontiers in health services · 2022Article
- Reliability of the Service Trip Audit Tool to assess the quality of short-term medical missions.International health · 2021Article
- Protocol for a systematic review of outcomes from microsurgical free-tissue transfer performed on short-term collaborative surgical trips in low-income and middle-income countries.Systematic reviews · 2021Article
- The Effect of Pediatric Colorectal Short-Term Medical Service Trips on Self-Reported Confidence in Patient Care in Volunteers in the Home Country.Annals of global health · 2020Article
- Expanding Medical Education for Local Health Promoters Among Remote Communities of the Peruvian Amazon: An Exploratory Study of an Innovative Program Model.Advances in medical education and practice · 2020Article
- Professionalisation of International Medical Volunteer Work to Maintain Ethical Standards: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experience of Volunteer Doctors in Relation to UK Policy.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Guidelines for responsible short-term global health activities: developing common principles.Globalization and health · 2018Review
- Accountability in global surgery missions.BMJ global health · 2018Article
- More harm than good? The questionable ethics of medical volunteering and international student placements.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundShort-term medical missions (STMMs) represent a grass-roots form of aid, transferring medical services rather than funds or equipment. The objective of this paper is to review empirical studies on social, economic and diplomatic aspects of STMMs.
methodsA systematic literature review was conducted by searching PubMed and EBSCOhost for articles published from 1947-2014 about medical missions to lower and middle income countries (LMICs). Publications focused on military, disaster and dental service trips were excluded. A data extraction process was used to identify publications relevant to our objective stated above.
resultsPubMed and EBSCOhost searches provided 4138 and 3262 articles respectively for review. Most articles that provide useful information have appeared in the current millennium and are found in focused surgical journals. Little attention is paid to aspects of volunteerism, altruism and philanthropy related to STMM activity in the literature reviewed (1 article). Evidence of professionalization remains scarce, although elements including guidelines and tactical instructions have been emerging (27 articles). Information on costs (10 articles) and commentary on the relevance of market forces (1 article) are limited. Analyses of spill-over effects, i.e., changing attitudes of physicians or their communities towards aid, and characterizations of STMMs as meaningful foreign aid or strategic diplomacy are few (4 articles).
conclusionsThe literature on key social, economic and diplomatic aspects of STMMs and their consequences is sparse. Guidelines, tactical instructions and attempts at outcome measures are emerging that may better professionalize the otherwise unregulated activity. A broader discussion of these key aspects may lead to improved accountability and intercultural professionalism to accompany medical professionalism in STMM activity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.