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References

Pezella A. Volunteerism and humanitarian efforts in surgery. Curr Probl Surg. 2006; 43:848-929
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Volunteering Abroad. 2018;

International healthcare volunteering: lessons learned from efforts to put a sustainable model for emergency dentistry and oral health education into rural tanzania

From Volume 46, Issue 3, March 2019 | Pages 197-201

Authors

Andrew James Paterson

BDS, LLM, FDSCRPS, FDSRCS(Ed), DRDRCS (Ed), MRDRCS (Ed)

Senior Clinical Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Dundee Dental School, 2 Park Place, Dundee, DD1 4HR

Articles by Andrew James Paterson

John Gordon Milne

General Dental Practitioner/Senior National Dental Adviser, King's Medical Centre, King Edward Street, Normanton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF6 2AZ; Care Quality Commission, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9SZ

Articles by John Gordon Milne

Joseph Edward Kazimoto

Clinical Director Hope Dental Centre, Rock City Mall, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania

Articles by Joseph Edward Kazimoto

Jeremy Bagg

Professor of Clinical Microbiology, Infection Research Group, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, 378 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Articles by Jeremy Bagg

Article

International healthcare volunteering is becoming increasingly popular.1 Many dental professionals and students from developed world countries volunteer for a legion of programmes predominantly in the developing world. Individual volunteers' motives are varied and include social responsibility,2 a wish ‘to help others’,3 to experience a sense of adventure,4 religious motivations5 and career-based motivations.6

Whilst many volunteer programmes aspire to help and provide sustainable benefits for the communities they seek to serve, concern has been expressed that some programmes may cause unintended harm. Certainly the response to volunteering in host communities is sometimes mixed.7 Sadly, often due to inadequate knowledge and understanding, some projects have the potential to cause harm by being paternalistic, diminishing confidence in local health systems, failing to maintain patient safety, causing economic harm to local providers and being more about volunteers than local communities.8 In consequence, there is a need for dental professionals involved in volunteering to understand the concept better.

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