Resilience of the medical mission model: assessment of the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on short-term medical missions to Latin America and the Caribbean

# Background COVID-19-related travel restrictions profoundly impacted short-term medical missions (STMMs) abroad. This study describes the effect of the pandemic as perceived by STMM organisations serving Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). # Methods Information was updated for 359 primary care STMM organisations previously active in 2015, which were contained within an existing online database. Organisations were contacted to complete an online survey that gathered quantitative and qualitative descriptions of pandemic-related adaptations and program changes. # Results 22.5% (73/324) of previously active organisations had no website activity since 2020 or earlier, no longer existed, or had unclear website activity. Eighty-seven organisations responded to the survey. Ninety-six percent indicated that they would definitely (72/86, 84%) or probably (10/86, 12%) return to sending STMMs in the next five years, and most (46/83, 55%) of these intended to send an STMM within the next six months. Seventy-two respondents (93%) reported new adaptations, including direct funding for local healthcare professionals, sending equipment to host communities, focusing on training and teaching, and incorporating virtual care and electronic medical records. # Conclusions The results demonstrate resilience, flexibility and optimism among STMM organisations and an intent to return to pre-pandemic programming rapidly

sj-docx-1-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 – Supplemental material for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery by Caroline Hircock, Xue-Wei Lin, Rafael P. Lansang, Cameron F. Leveille, Lucas Gallo and Achilles Thoma in HAND</p

sj-xlsx-4-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 – Supplemental material for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery

Supplemental material, sj-xlsx-4-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery by Caroline Hircock, Xue-Wei Lin, Rafael P. Lansang, Cameron F. Leveille, Lucas Gallo and Achilles Thoma in HAND</p

sj-docx-2-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 – Supplemental material for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery by Caroline Hircock, Xue-Wei Lin, Rafael P. Lansang, Cameron F. Leveille, Lucas Gallo and Achilles Thoma in HAND</p

sj-docx-3-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 – Supplemental material for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery

Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-han-10.1177_15589447231225271 for A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research in Hand Surgery by Caroline Hircock, Xue-Wei Lin, Rafael P. Lansang, Cameron F. Leveille, Lucas Gallo and Achilles Thoma in HAND</p

Ensuring patient centeredness in upper extremity lymphedema research:Identifying patient-prioritized agenda and preferences

Purpose: To elicit a patient-prioritized agenda and preferences for upper extremity lymphedema (LE) research. Methods: Focus group sessions (FGs) were conducted with English-speaking, adult women (18 years and older) with breast cancer-related LE (BCRL) seeking conservative or surgical care at two tertiary cancer centers in Ontario, Canada. An interview guide was used; women were asked to describe health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes that mattered the most to them, followed by their preferences for research study design and for providing patient-reported outcomes measure (PROM) data. Inductive content analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes. Results: A total of 16 women participated in 4 FG sessions (55 ± 9.5 years) and described the impact of LE on their appearance, physical, psychosocial, and sexual well-being. Women emphasized that psychosocial well-being was often not discussed in clinical care and that they were poorly informed of LE risk and care options. Most women said that they would not be willing to be randomized to surgical versus conservative management of LE. They also expressed a preference to complete PROM data electronically. All women emphasized the value of having an open text option alongside PROMs to expand on their concerns. Conclusion: Patient centeredness is key to generating meaningful data and ensuring ongoing engagement in clinical research. In LE, comprehensive PROMs that measure a range of HRQL concerns, especially psychosocial well-being, should be considered. Women with BCRL are reluctant to be randomized to conservative care when a surgical option is available, resulting in implications for planning trial sample size and recruitment.</p