ORGANIZING MEDICAL VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES ON THE BASIS OF THE REGIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

Significance. In most regions of the Russian Federation, including the Krasnoyarsk Territory, regional projects on medical volunteer activities are under way. However, the existing organizational and functional models fail to meet the need for effective organization of medical volunteer activities. The purpose of the study is to develop an organizational and functional model for organizing and monitoring medical volunteer activities based on the regional information system of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Results. The paper presents the developed organizational and functional model for organizing and monitoring medical volunteer activities on the basis of a regional information system. This model includes a unified regional information space, including a register of volunteer activities, a management body represented by the regional Ministry of Health, as well as medical organizations in which volunteers carry out their activities. Conclusions. The developed organizational and functional model for organizing and monitoring medical volunteer activity allows to keep a full account of the facts of the volunteer activities implementation, their volumes, terms, medical organizations in which this activity was carried out, to manage medical volunteer activities at the regional level, as well as to evaluate their effectiveness. Scope of application. The organizational and functional model for organizing and monitoring medical volunteer activities developed and implemented in the Siberian Federal District, based on the regional information system of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, can be used for complete accounting and, if necessary, confirming volumes and additional conditions for implementing such activities in other regions of the Russian Federation.

Problematizing “Activism”: Medical Volunteer Tourism in Central America, Local Resistance, and Academic Activism

This paper critically examines epistemological, ontological, and axiological tensions of activism in three related contexts. These are, first, (primarily medical) volunteer tourism ideologies and practices in Central America, including U.S.-American teenagers volunteering in medical centers where, entirely untrained, they do sutures and injections, deliver babies, and help with amputations. Second, the paper considers and critiques local norms (e.g., widespread homophobia) and materials (e.g., the use of short-handled agricultural hoes) that may be discursively constructed as resistance to western imperialism. Finally, the critique turns back on the researcher gaze itself, problematizing the notion of academic activism in spaces, like these, where criticality itself is an imported—arguably luxurious—folly. Local people, it is apparent, do not want convoluted theorizing or Western hand-wringing; they want proper medical care. The paper therefore considers the extent to which academic work in such spaces can call itself activism at all. Three years of ethnographic research inform the paper (2013–2015, predominantly in Guatemala and Nicaragua), including hundreds of hours of interviews and participant observational fieldwork, in Spanish and English, with local stakeholders (e.g., teachers and homestay hosts) and Western volunteer tourists. The paper is theorized with reference to postcolonial theory, critical medical ethics, and liberation theology.

Volunteer choice of nonprofit organisation: an integrated framework

Purpose This paper aims to explore how volunteers choose one nonprofit organisation (NPO) rather than another. It identifies the drivers of choice, and the relationship between them, to enable NPOs to strengthen their volunteer recruitment. Design/methodology/approach A total of 51 service-delivery volunteers were interviewed, drawn from 5 leading NPOs. A laddering technique was used to understand the context in which the choice of organisation was made and the underlying personal needs and goals. The data was analysed using means-end chain (MEC) methodology to uncover the relationships between, and hierarchy of, the decision drivers. Findings Brand, cause, and role were found to be important in meeting personal needs and goals through volunteering. The paper makes three contributions. Firstly, it presents a clearer understanding of NPO choice through adopting an integrated theoretical perspective. Secondly, it identifies the decision-making process and key relationships between the attributes of the NPO, the consequences for the volunteer, and the connection to their personal needs. Finally, the study makes an important contribution to literature through presenting a new conceptual framework of volunteer decision-making in the nonprofit context to act as a catalyst for future research. Research limitations/implications This research is both impactful through, and limited by, its context selection: regular service-delivery volunteers from five NPOs within two causes. The paper presents a rich research stream to extend this understanding to other nonprofit stakeholders, other causes including medical volunteer, and smaller NPOs. Practical implications In an increasingly competitive nonprofit environment with a growing need to support the vulnerable in society, NPO sustainability is dependent on their ability to recruit new volunteers. NPOs compete not only with other organisations with similar causes but also those offering similar volunteering roles, and other uses of time to meet personal needs such as sport, career, or community. Understanding how volunteers make their choice of NPO rather than other uses of their time is of vital importance to make the most effective use of scarce marketing resources. This paper contributes to that practitioner understanding. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to extend the understanding of generic motivations of volunteers to consider specific choice of NPO. Unlike previous literature, the authors bring together theory on brand, cause, and role with personal needs. The authors are also the first to apply MEC methodology to the nonprofit context to uncover the personal underlying, less salient reasons behind NPO choice and the relationship between them.

RESULTS OF MEDICAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAM IN THE KRASNOYARSK REGION (2014-2019)

Significance. In 2013, the President of the Russian Federation proposed to create a volunteer movement to provide all possible assistance in health. In 2014, the Krasnoyarsk region launched "School of medical volunteers" project, which subsequently formed basis for "Medical volunteer program", implemented in the Krasnoyarsk region. The purpose of this article is to systematize experience in organizing medical volunteer work in the Krasnoyarsk region, analyze its effectiveness and identify organizational problems that hinder development of the system of medical volunteers. Results. The study analyzes dynamics in participants’ enrollment into Medical volunteer program in the Krasnoyarsk region, age and gender structure, and generalized characteristics of the program participants. In addition, dynamics in the volume of voluntary work for the period from 2014 to 2019 was analyzed. Conclusions. A significant increase in the number of registered volunteers and the amount of voluntary work for the period from 2014 to 2019 indicates a high interest among pupils, students and other population groups in the implementation of voluntary work, while a wide geographical distribution of volunteers, a significant increase in the number of volunteers and amount of volunteering demonstrates effectiveness of organizing medical volunteers at the regional level, making it possible to scale up best practices of the Krasnoyarsk region throughout other regions of the Russian Federation. Scope of application. The results presented in this article can be used for scaling up and developing medical volunteer programs in other regions of the Russian Federation.

Perceptions of disability among parents of children with disabilities in Nicaragua: Implications for future opportunities and health care access

<p><span>The purposes of this study were to explore caregiver perceptions of the origin of their children's disabilities, aspirations for their children's future, and the frequency with which they sought health care and rehabilitation services for their children with disabilities. A qualitative descriptive design using face-to-face semi-structured interviews of 13 caregivers of children with disabilities was employed. Caregivers cited biomedical explanations, as well as beliefs in superstitious, traditional, and religious-based causes of disability. Respondents reported limited access to medical care and rehabilitation services. Nevertheless, caregivers have hope for their children's futures. Increased global medical volunteer involvement has the potential to improve access to care and rehabilitation services.</span></p>