Needs assessment of medical care for rural Jamaicans that require assistance from short-term medical missions

Short-term medical missions (STMM) are a well-established means of providing healthcare to the developing world. Jamaica is a nation that enjoys the benefits of a multitude of STMMs. The objective of this study was to offer a collection of statistics about the medical needs of a sample of patients s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International public health journal 2013-04, Vol.5 (2), p.155
Main Authors: Popovic, Marko, Prica, Milos, Minic, Milan, Steele, Beatrice, Chow, Edward, Popovic, Jelena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asthma
Dermatitis
Health care
Nurses
Patients
Pediatrics
Physicians
Population
Rural areas
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Summary:Short-term medical missions (STMM) are a well-established means of providing healthcare to the developing world. Jamaica is a nation that enjoys the benefits of a multitude of STMMs. The objective of this study was to offer a collection of statistics about the medical needs of a sample of patients seen at a Jamaican STMM. The researchers participated in a STMM with Crystal Mission International to Jamaica from July 1st to July 8th, 2011. Over half of accrued patients (50.8%) reported their health as being either fair or poor. The most common observed conditions were: hypertension (26.0%), dermatitis (19.4%), asthma (8.2%), diabetes and hyperglycemia (6.6%), and arthritis (6.6%). Almost half of the sample (49.1%) reported that it took ≥ 60 minutes for them to get to their nearest doctor, indicating that temporal and financial implications may have been the primary obstacles barring rural Jamaicans from receiving regular medical care.
ISSN:1947-4989
2374-1023