Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Promoting Volunteerism in Global Health: Lessons from a Medical Mission in Northern Mexico

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The challenges of meeting global health care needs in communities throughout the developing world are becoming increasingly complex. Understanding what motivates volunteers is important for organizations that seek to harness and develop long-term volunteers in order to meet the need for global health care services. Here we report a case study of a successful volunteer clinic that has provided medical, dental and surgical services to under-served residents of northern Mexico for more than 20 years. Our objective was to understand what promotes sustained volunteerism. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with students, residents, nurses, dentists, oral surgeons and community volunteers, in addition to four full days of participant observation. We analysed volunteers’ experiences with a real-life global medical mission and offer recommendations. Motivating factors included psychological and emotional rewards, career-related benefits, opportunities for interpersonal interaction, the opportunity to serve disadvantaged communities and personal relevance of the mission. We demonstrate the paramount importance of volunteer-patient interaction, having a dedicated facilitator to recruit and pave the way for first-time volunteers and the value of using multiple recruitment strategies. Most important, we show that organizations must focus on facilitating first-time volunteers’ experiences, particularly by ensuring that they are given specific roles and responsibilities, one of the best predictors of volunteer satisfaction and sustained volunteerism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. World Health Organization. (2006). The world health report 2006: Working together for health. Available at: http://www.who.int/whr/2006/en/.

  2. Burns, D., Reid, J., Toncar, M., Fawcett, J., & Anderson, C. (2006). Motivations to volunteer: The role of altruism. International Review on Public and Non Profit Marketing, 3(2), 79–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Contini, S. (2007). Surgery in developing countries: Why and how to meet surgical needs worldwide. Acta Biomedica, 78, 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Farmer, P., & Kim, J. (2008). Surgery and global health: A view from beyond the OR. World Journal of Surgery, 32(4), 533–536.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Wendlund, C. L. (2010). A Heart for the work: Journeys through an African medical school. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Mulliken, J. B. (2004). The changing faces of children with cleft lip and palate. New England Journal of Medicine, 351(8), 745–747.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Mendoza, R. L. (2009). Public health policy and medical missions in the Philippines: The case of oral–facial clefting. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 21(1), 94–103.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Omoto, A., & Synder, M. (1993). Volunteers and their motivations: Theoretical issues and practical concerns. Nonprofit Management Leadership, 4, 157–176.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ascoli, U., & Cnaan, R. A. (1997). Volunteering for human service provisions: Lessons from Italy and the U.S.A. Social Indicators Research, 40(3), 299–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Ozgediz, S. (2009). Voluntarism and the global unmet need for surgery. Archives of Surgery, 144(3), 291–292.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Harper, D. C., & Peterson, D. B. (2001). Children of the Philippines: Attitudes toward visible physical impairment. Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal, 38(6), 566–576.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Martiniuk, A. L. C., Manouchehrian, M., Negin, J. A., & Zwi, A. B. (2012). Brain gains: A literature review of medical missions to low and middle-income countries. BMC Health Services Research, 12, 134.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Dupuis, C. C. (2004). Humanitarian missions in the third world: A polite dissent. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 113(1), 433–435.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Wall, L. L., Arrowsmith, S. D., et al. (2006). Humanitarian ventures or ‘fistula tourism?’: The ethical perils of pelvic surgery in the developing world. International Journal of Urogynecology and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, 17(6), 559–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Maki, J., Qualls, M., et al. (2008). Health impact assessment and short-term medical missions: A methods study to evaluate quality of care. BMC Health Services Research, 8, 121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Wright, I. G., Walker, I. A., et al. (2007). Specialist surgery in the developing world: Luxury or necessity? Anaesthesia, 62(Suppl 1), 84–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Bickler, S. W., & Spiegel, D. A. (2008). Global surgery: Defining a research agenda. Lancet, 372, 90–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Gosselin, T. A., Thind, A., & Bellardinelli, A. (2006). Cost/DALY averted in a small hospital in Sierra Leone: What is the relative contribution of different services? World Journal of Surgery, 30, 505–511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Debas, H. T., Gosselin, R., McCord, C., & Thind, A. (2006). Surgery. In D. T. Jamison, J. G. Breman, A. R. Measham, et al. (Eds.), Disease control priorities in developing countries (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Magee, W. P., Jr., Vander Burg, R., & Ward Hatcher, K. (2010). Cleft lip and palate as a cost-effective health care treatment in the developing world. World Journal of Surgery, 34, 420–427.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Murray, J. C., Daack-Hirsch, S., Buetow, K. H., Munger, R., Espina, L., Paglinawan, N., et al. (1997). Clinical and epidemiologic studies of cleft lip and palate in the Philippines. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 34(1), 7–10.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Wantia, N., & Rettinger, G. (2002). The current understanding of cleft lip malformations. Facial Plastic Surgery, 18(3), 147–153.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Wehby, G. L., & Cassell, C. H. (2010). The impact of orofacial clefts on quality of life and healthcare use and costs. Oral Disease, 16(1), 3–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Cnaan, R., Handy, F., & Wadsworth, M. (1996). Defining who is a volunteer: Conceptual and empirical considerations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 25(3), 364–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Metz, E., & Youniss, J. (2003). A demonstration that school-based required service does not deter-but heightens-volunteerism. Political Science and Politics, 36(2), 281–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Haski-Leventhal, D. (2009). Altruism and volunteerism: The perceptions of altruism in four disciplines and their impact on the study of volunteerism. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 39(3), 271–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Sundeen, R. A., Raskoff, S. A., & Garcia, M. C. (2007). Differences in perceived barriers to volunteering to formal organizations-lack of time versus lack of interest. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 17(3), 279–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Sundeen, R. A., Garcia, M. C., & Raskoff, S. A. (2009). Ethnicity, acculturation and volunteering to organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(6), 929–955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Couton, P., & Gaudet, S. (2008). Rethinking social participation: The case of immigrants in Canada. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 9, 21–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Janoski, T., & Wilson, J. (1995). Pathways to voluntarism. Social Forces, 74, 271–292.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Pearce, J. (1993). Volunteers: The organizational behavior of unpaid workers. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 215–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Marta, E., & Pozzi, M. (2008). Young people and volunteerism: A model of sustained volunteerism during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Adult Development, 15, 35–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Cnaan, R. A., & Goldberg-Glen, R. S. (1991). Measuring motivation to volunteer in human services. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27(3), 269–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Hart, D., & Fegley, S. (1995). Prosocial behavior and caring in adolescence: Relations to self-understanding and social judgment. Child Development, 66(5), 1346–1359.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Yates, M., & Youniss, J. (1999). Roots of civic identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Pancer, S. M., Pratt, M. W., & Hunsberger, B. (1998). Community and political involvement in adolescence. What distinguishes the activist from the uninvolved? Paper presented at the 7th Biennal Meeting of the Society for Research in Adolescence, San Diego.

  38. Yeung, A. B. (2004). The octagon model of volunteer motivation: Results of a phenomenological analysis. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 15(1), 21–46.

  39. MacNeela, P. (2008). The give and take of volunteering: Motives, benefits, and personal connections among Irish volunteers. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 19, 125–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Clary, E. G., & Snyder, M. (1999). The motivations to volunteer: Theoretical and practical considerations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(5), 156–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Callero, P. L., Howard, J. A., & Piliavin, J. A. (1987). Helping behavior as a role behavior: Disclosing social structure and history on the analysis of prosocial action. Social Psychology Quarterly, 50, 247–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Grube, J. A., & Piliavin, J. A. (2000). Role identity, organizational experiences, and volunteer performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(9), 1108–1119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Omoto, A., & Synder, M. (2002). Considerations of community: The context and process of volunteerism. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 846–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Penner, L. A. (2002). Dispositional and organizational influences on sustained volunteerism: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 447–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. McGinigle, K. L., Milano, P. M., Rich, P. B., & Viera, A. J. (2008). Volunteerism among surgeons: An exploration of attitudes and barriers. The American Journal of Surgery, 196, 300–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Davis, M. H., Hall, J. A., & Myer, M. (2003). The first year: Influences on the satisfaction, involvement, and persistence of new community volunteers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 248–260.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Thousand Smiles Foundation website. (2012). www.thousandsmiles.org.

  48. Tanaka, T. (2004). A thousand smiles. Journal of the American College of Dentists, 71(1), 20–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Parsi, K., & List, J. (2008). Preparing medical students for the world: Service learning and global health justice. The Medscape Journal of Medicine, 10(11), 268.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Finkelstein, M. A., Penner, L. A., & Brannick, M. T. (2005). Motive, role identity, and prosocial personality as predictors of volunteer activity. Social Behavior and Personality, 33, 403–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Van Willigen, M. (2000). Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course. Journal of Gerontology, 55B(5), S308–S318.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Hustinx, L., Handy, F., Cnaan, R. A., Brudney, J. L., Pessi, A. B., & Yamauchi, N. (2010). Social and cultural origins of motivations to volunteer: A comparison of university students in six countries. International Sociology, 25(3), 349–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Peterson, D. K. (2004). Recruitment strategies for encouraging participation in corporate volunteer programs. Journal of Business Ethics, 49(4), 371–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Baraza, J. A. (2011). Positive emotional expectations predict volunteer outcomes for new volunteers. Motivation and Emotion, 35, 211–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 53-009 Den Bldg, Box 951668, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1668, USA

    Mellissa Withers & Tara Aghaloo

  2. Department of Anthropology and Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, 347 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1553, USA

    Carole H. Browner

  3. Department of Den-Oral Surgery, UCLA, 53-009 Den Bldg, Box 951668, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1668, USA

    Tara Aghaloo

Authors
  1. Mellissa Withers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carole H. Browner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tara Aghaloo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mellissa Withers.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Withers, M., Browner, C.H. & Aghaloo, T. Promoting Volunteerism in Global Health: Lessons from a Medical Mission in Northern Mexico. J Community Health 38, 374–384 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9627-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9627-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation