A Short-Term Medical Mission in Rural Nepal: Chief Complaints, Medications Dispensed, and Unmet Health Needs

Background Although Nepal is striving to expand primary health services for its citizens, many remote areas have limited access to basic health care. Short-term medical missions (STMMs) are one way of supplementing human resources for health in underserved areas. This article describes the chief complaints, medications dispensed, and unmet health needs during an STMM in rural Nepal. Methods This study is a retrospective analysis of data collected during an STMM that occurred in October 2017. Deidentified data from clinic intake forms were entered into an Excel spreadsheet, and formatted and cleaned. Demographics, chief complaints, medications, and unmet health needs were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results During a two-day health camp, 443 patients were seen. The most common chief complaint was dental (33.4%) followed by musculoskeletal (28.2%) and gastrointestinal (21.2%). Medications were dispensed to 94.8% of patients, primarily analgesics, antibiotics, and ophthalmologic preparations. Of the patients, 21% had unmet health needs, including specialty care and labs or imaging that were beyond the scope of the STMM. One patient was referred urgently to a hospital for treatment of dyspnea and markedly elevated blood pressure. Conclusion While STMMs cannot replace access to primary health services, they can provide insight into acute care needs in a system that has limited surveillance. This information describing an acute care patient population should inform future development work.