Dataset Information

A critical examination of empowerment discourse in medical tourism: the case of the dental tourism industry in Los Algodones, Mexico.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Medical tourism is a term used to describe the phenomenon of individuals intentionally traveling across national borders to privately purchase medical care. The medical tourism industry has been portrayed in the media as an "escape valve" providing alternative care options as a result of vast economic asymmetries between the global north and global south and the flexible regulatory environment in which care is provided to medical tourists. Discourse suggesting the medical tourism industry necessarily enhances access to medical care has been employed by industry stakeholders to promote continued expansion of the industry; however, it remains unknown how this discourse informs industry practices on the ground. Using case study methodology, this research examines the perspectives and experiences of industry stakeholders working and living in a dental tourism industry site in northern Mexico to develop a better understanding of the ways in which common discourses of the industry are taken up or resisted by various industry stakeholders and the possible implications of these practices on health equity.

Results

Interview discussions with a range of industry stakeholders suggest that care provision in this particular location enables international patients to access high quality dental care at more affordable prices than typically available in their home countries. However, interview participants also raised concerns about the quality of care provided to medical tourists and poor access to needed care amongst local populations. These concerns disrupt discourses about the positive health impacts of the industry commonly circulated by industry stakeholders positioned to profit from these unjust industry practices.

Conclusions

We argue in this paper that elite industry stakeholders in our case site took up discourses of medical tourism as enhancing access to care in ways that mask health equity concerns for the industry and justify particular industry activities despite health equity concerns for these practices. This research provides new insight into the ways in which the medical tourism industry raises ethical concern and the structures of power informing unethical practices.

SUBMITTER: Adams K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6054732 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A critical examination of empowerment discourse in medical tourism: the case of the dental tourism industry in Los Algodones, Mexico.

Adams Krystyna K Snyder Jeremy J Crooks Valorie A VA Berry Nicole S NS

Globalization and health 20180720 1

<h4>Background</h4>Medical tourism is a term used to describe the phenomenon of individuals intentionally traveling across national borders to privately purchase medical care. The medical tourism industry has been portrayed in the media as an "escape valve" providing alternative care options as a result of vast economic asymmetries between the global north and global south and the flexible regulatory environment in which care is provided to medical tourists. Discourse suggesting the medical tour ...[more]

PMID: 30029610

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDespite having access to medically necessary care available through publicly funded provincial health care systems, some Canadians travel for treatment provided at international medical facilities as well as for-profit clinics found in several Canadian provinces. Canadians travel abroad for orthopaedic surgery, bariatric surgery, ophthalmologic surgery, stem cell injections, "Liberation therapy" for multiple sclerosis, and additional interventions. Both responding to public interest in medical travel and playing an important part in promoting the notion of a global marketplace for health services, many Canadian companies market medical travel.MethodsResearch began with the goal of locating all medical tourism companies based in Canada. Various strategies were used to find such businesses. During the search process it became apparent that many Canadian business promoting medical travel are not medical tourism companies. To the contrary, numerous types of businesses promote medical travel. Once businesses promoting medical travel were identified, content analysis was used to extract information from company websites. Company websites were analyzed to establish: 1) where in Canada these businesses are located; 2) the destination countries and health care facilities that they market; 3) the medical procedures they promote; 4) core marketing messages; and 5) whether businesses market air travel, hotel accommodations, and holiday tours in addition to medical procedures.ResultsSearches conducted from 2006 to 2011 resulted in identification of thirty-five Canadian businesses currently marketing various kinds of medical travel. The research project began with what seemed to be the straightforward goal of establishing how many medical tourism companies are based in Canada. Refinement of categories resulted in the identification of eighteen businesses fitting the category of what most researchers would identify as medical tourism companies. Seven other businesses market regional, cross-border health services available in the United States and intranational travel to clinics in Canada. In contrast to medical tourism companies, they do not market holiday tours in addition to medical care. Two companies occupy a narrow market niche and promote testing for CCSVI and "Liberation therapy" for multiple sclerosis. Three additional companies offer bariatric surgery and cosmetic surgery at facilities in Mexico. Four businesses offer health insurance products intended to cover the cost of obtaining privately financed health care in the U.S. These businesses also help their clients arrange treatment beyond Canada's borders. Finally, one medical travel company based in Canada markets health services primarily to U.S. citizens.ConclusionsThis article uses content analysis of websites of Canadian companies marketing medical travel to provide insight into Canada's medical travel industry. The article reveals a complex marketplace with different types of companies taking distinct approaches to marketing medical travel.

Project description:ObjectiveThe research sought to ascertain medical and dental libraries' collection development policies, evaluation methods, purchase decisions, and issues that relate to print and electronic United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) preparation materials.MethodsThe investigators surveyed librarians supporting American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC)-accredited medical schools (n = 58/125) on the USMLE and librarians supporting American Dental Association (ADA)-accredited dental schools (n = 23/56) on the NBDE. The investigators analyzed the data by cross-tabulating and filtering the results using EFM Continuum web survey software. Investigators also surveyed print and electronic USMLE and NBDE preparation materials from 2004-2007 to determine the number of publications and existence of reviews.ResultsA majority of responding AAMC libraries (62%, n = 58) provide at least 1 electronic or online USMLE preparation resource and buy an average of 11.6 print USMLE titles annually. Due to a paucity of NBDE print and electronic resources, ADA libraries bought significantly fewer print resources, and only 1 subscribed to an electronic resource. The most often reported evaluation methods for both populations were feedback from medical or dental students, feedback from medical or dental faculty, and online trials. Some AAMC (10%, n = 58) and ADA libraries (39%, n = 23) libraries reported that no evaluation of these materials occured at their libraries.ConclusionsFrom 2004-2007, publishers produced 45 USMLE preparation resources (total n = 546) to every 1 NBDE preparation resource (total n = 12). Users' needs, institutional missions and goals, financial status, and official collection policies most often underlie decisions to collect or not collect examination preparation materials. Evaluating the quality of examination preparation materials can be problematic due to lack of published reviews, lack of usability testing by libraries, and librarians' and library users' unfamiliarity with the actual content of examinations. Libraries must integrate faculty and students into the purchase process to make sure examination preparation resources of the highest quality are purchased.

Project description:BackgroundInternational medical travel or medical tourism is not a new phenomenon in many countries, including among Indonesians. Indonesia is reported as a major source of patients from the lower, middle, to upper classes for its neighbouring countries. This scoping review aims to synthesise evidence on supporting factors for Indonesians taking medical tourism and what needs to be improved in Indonesia's health system.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review guided by a framework provided by Arksey and O'Malley. We systematically searched existing literature from 5 databases, including MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Wiley. Data were extracted based on study details, study design, characteristics of participants and results. Analysis followed the three-stage procedure outlined by Thomas and Harden: (1) coding the text line by line, interpreting the data and identifying concepts or themes; (2) developing descriptive themes by grouping similar concepts in theme and subtheme and (3) generating analytical themes by reviewing preliminary themes and discussing the addition or revision of themes.ResultsA total of 25 articles were included in this review. The review highlights a broad range of facilitators for medical tourism among Indonesians: (i) availability of health services, medical specialities, and person-centred care, (ii) region adjacency, transport, and health agency, (iii) affordability of medical treatment, (iv) religious and socio-cultural factors, and (v) reasons patients reported distrust in Indonesian doctors.ConclusionThe findings indicate improvements in the Indonesian health system are necessary if the increasing rates of international medical tourism by Indonesian people are to change. Addressing the factors identified in this scoping review through avenues including policy may increase people's satisfaction and trust towards health care and treatment in Indonesia, thereby reducing the number of Indonesian people taking medical tourism.

Dataset Information

A critical examination of empowerment discourse in medical tourism: the case of the dental tourism industry in Los Algodones, Mexico.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

A critical examination of empowerment discourse in medical tourism: the case of the dental tourism industry in Los Algodones, Mexico.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets