When numbers eclipse narratives: a cultural-political critique of the 'ethical impacts of short-term experiences in global health in Dominican Republic bateyes

With the rising demand for short-term experiences in global health (STEGH) is an ever-increasing volume of literature that focuses attention on ethics and ethical concerns, such as the effects of STEGH on host populations. Such concerns have driven the development of ethical principles and guidelines, with discussions and debates largely centred around normative questions of positive/negative and benefit/harm for us/them. Using a critical medical humanities lens, this paper blurs these dichotomous framings and offers a more complex understanding of the effects and effectiveness of STEGH on hosts. I explore STEGH that send volunteers from North American universities to the Dominican Republic to participate in service-learning activities aimed at improving the lives of impoverished Haitian migrants living in bateyes. I address the following questions: What perspectives about the impacts of interventions on host communities manifest through STEGH? What tensions emerge through interactions among diverse stakeholders related to those perspectives, and with what effects? Drawing together critical theory and ethnography, I examined the perspectives of three stakeholder groups: student and faculty volunteers, host organisation staff, and hosts in batey communities. Data collected from observations and interviews were counterposed; I analysed interactions and interplay between stakeholders. My findings revealed conflicts around an emergent theme: counting efforts, or volunteers’...
Source: Medical Humanities - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Original research Source Type: research