MEDIUM TO LONG TERM IMPACTS ON FORMER PARTICIPANTS OF THE SHOULDER TO SHOULDER GLOBAL BRIGADES TO ECUADOR

• Main Author: Borie, Craig
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2018
• Subjects: Interprofessional; international service learning; voluntourism; experiential learning; cultural awareness; volunteer at home and abroad; Civic and Community Engagement; Community-Based Learning; International Public Health; Interprofessional Education; Language Interpretation and Translation; Leadership Studies; Service Learning
• Online Access: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cld_etds/45; https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=cld_etds

Medium to Long Term Impacts on Former Participants of the Shoulder to Shoulder Global Brigades to Ecuador. International service learning and voluntourism programs in global health evoke benefits for both community and the intervener. While it is clear that the Shoulder to Shoulder Global program at the University of Kentucky provides a service to an economically resource poor community in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, what is unclear is the impact these interprofessional experiences have on the participants that travel with the four times a year health brigades. This study proposes to answer the question of what are the educational, personal and professional impacts that brigade participants experience. Alumni of the Shoulder to Shoulder Global health brigades from 2007 – 2017 were sent a twenty-three question survey to better understand the impact of this program. Seventy-five responses to the quantitative and qualitative questions were received and a chi square analysis was performed of subgroups within the seventy-five respondents. The findings indicate that this program has positively impacted participants in all three areas, with strong evidence to show that the impacts are related to the initial and intermediate outcomes, with more data needed to better assess the long-term program outcomes.