Developing Health Care Clinic Partnerships in Resource-Limited Regions

Abstract

Establishing a successful health care clinic is challenging anywhere in the world. Dr Collins has drawn on her personal experience working in those parts of our planet where people are living with less than their fair share of its resources. Unfortunately, this comprises the majority of the world’s population. Not surprisingly, establishing medical care services in such places requires attention to the total fabric and environment of the intended population. Clearly, the interrelationship between successful health care delivery and education, sanitation, food availability, and the massive negative effects of poverty in general should factor into understanding the potential benefits of such services in a clinic setting. For those wanting to make a difference that imbeds and persists in the community, the guidance provided in this column provides a brief introduction as to how to begin.Jay E. Berkelhamer, Section Editor Even in an era of robust globalization, in which interconnectedness of populations seems to demand that health care strategies be implemented on a global scale, the actual treatment of disease remains a highly local and individualized affair. At its core, health care is about doctors and other health care practitioners seeing patients, often in the poverty-stricken, war-ravaged, or ill-governed regions where the patients reside. To implement effective health care strategies in these settings requires more than medical expertise and good intentions. It requires an ongoing local presence—practitioners treating patients—and establishing such a presence requires a plan. In addition, US government funding for global health initiatives is now approaching $10 billion annually,1 and universities are demonstrating an ever-increasing interest in global health collaborations,2 so the quality and quantity of resources available to institutions seeking to launch overseas clinics is almost certain to improve over the next decade. Although the particulars of opening such clinics will vary markedly by country, … Address correspondence to Elizabeth Montgomery Collins, MD, MPH, Section of Retrovirology & Global Health, Feigin Center, Suite 630, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: EGMontgomery{at}AAP.net