Essentials for health care providers traveling to low-resource countries

M Gail Hill, Karen McCarty, Deborah Bowers

School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to provide recommendations regarding personal planning for short-term trips to low-resource areas with the purpose of providing health care. Recommendations are based on lessons learned by the three authors during almost 5 years of cumulative time spent in 15 different countries on three continents in international nursing experiences. Recommendations are organized according to essential needs and nice-to-have materials. Suggestions are further sorted by categories of medicines, clothing, entertainment, documentation, safety, personal hygiene, and miscellaneous. Consideration has been given to space and weight limitations, as well as to practical and potentially critical needs. Each recommendation comes from the lived experiences of one, two, or all three authors, and has been found to be worth sharing with those who would experience health care delivery under nonoptimal conditions.

Keywords: international nursing, travel essentials, low-resource countries