Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation

Objective. For decades, Haitian migrant workers living in bateyes around La Romana, Dominican Republic, have been the focus of short-term volunteer medical groups from North America. To assist these efforts, this study aimed to characterize various health and social needs that could be addressed by...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Tropical Medicine
Main Authors: Aaron S. Miller, Henry C. Lin, Chang-Berm Kang, Lawrence C. Loh
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063
https://doaj.org/article/631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010
id ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010
record_format openpolar
spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010 2024-09-09T19:26:32+00:00 Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation Aaron S. Miller Henry C. Lin Chang-Berm Kang Lawrence C. Loh 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063 https://doaj.org/article/631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010 EN eng Wiley http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9686 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9694 1687-9686 1687-9694 doi:10.1155/2016/4354063 https://doaj.org/article/631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010 Journal of Tropical Medicine, Vol 2016 (2016) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063 2024-08-05T17:48:46Z Objective. For decades, Haitian migrant workers living in bateyes around La Romana, Dominican Republic, have been the focus of short-term volunteer medical groups from North America. To assist these efforts, this study aimed to characterize various health and social needs that could be addressed by volunteer groups. Design. Needs were assessed using semistructured interviews of community and professional informants, using a questionnaire based on a social determinants of health framework, and responses were qualitatively analysed for common themes. Results. Key themes in community responses included significant access limitations to basic necessities and healthcare, including limited access to regular electricity and potable water, lack of health insurance, high out-of-pocket costs, and discrimination. Healthcare providers identified the expansion of a community health promoter program and mobile medical teams as potential solutions. English and French language training, health promotion, and medical skills development were identified as additional strategies by which teams could support community development. Conclusion. Visiting volunteer groups could work in partnership with community organizations to address these barriers by providing short-term access to services, while developing local capacity in education, healthcare, and health promotion in the long-term. Future work should also carefully evaluate the impacts and contributions of such volunteer efforts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Journal of Tropical Medicine 2016 1 6
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
spellingShingle Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Aaron S. Miller
Henry C. Lin
Chang-Berm Kang
Lawrence C. Loh
Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation
topic_facet Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
description Objective. For decades, Haitian migrant workers living in bateyes around La Romana, Dominican Republic, have been the focus of short-term volunteer medical groups from North America. To assist these efforts, this study aimed to characterize various health and social needs that could be addressed by volunteer groups. Design. Needs were assessed using semistructured interviews of community and professional informants, using a questionnaire based on a social determinants of health framework, and responses were qualitatively analysed for common themes. Results. Key themes in community responses included significant access limitations to basic necessities and healthcare, including limited access to regular electricity and potable water, lack of health insurance, high out-of-pocket costs, and discrimination. Healthcare providers identified the expansion of a community health promoter program and mobile medical teams as potential solutions. English and French language training, health promotion, and medical skills development were identified as additional strategies by which teams could support community development. Conclusion. Visiting volunteer groups could work in partnership with community organizations to address these barriers by providing short-term access to services, while developing local capacity in education, healthcare, and health promotion in the long-term. Future work should also carefully evaluate the impacts and contributions of such volunteer efforts.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Aaron S. Miller
Henry C. Lin
Chang-Berm Kang
Lawrence C. Loh
author_facet Aaron S. Miller
Henry C. Lin
Chang-Berm Kang
Lawrence C. Loh
author_sort Aaron S. Miller
title Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation
title_short Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation
title_full Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation
title_fullStr Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation
title_full_unstemmed Health and Social Needs in Three Migrant Worker Communities around La Romana, Dominican Republic, and the Role of Volunteers: A Thematic Analysis and Evaluation
title_sort health and social needs in three migrant worker communities around la romana, dominican republic, and the role of volunteers: a thematic analysis and evaluation
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2016
url https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063
https://doaj.org/article/631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010
geographic Arctic
geographic_facet Arctic
genre Arctic
genre_facet Arctic
op_source Journal of Tropical Medicine, Vol 2016 (2016)
op_relation http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063
https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9686
https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9694
1687-9686
1687-9694
doi:10.1155/2016/4354063
https://doaj.org/article/631efb1025424cfd8e876efb215dc010
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4354063
container_title Journal of Tropical Medicine
container_volume 2016
container_start_page 1
op_container_end_page 6
_version_ 1809896136494809088