Overseas relief organizations: a guide for health care providers

Spending time overseas providing health care to people in disaster or famine-related situations can be a very rewarding experience. This article presents lists of various organizations available for health care professionals who wish to spend time in relief work. The lists include qualifications and/or professional needs, locations, lengths of service, and focuses of the organizations. Some of these organizations provide a stipend for the relief worker. In others, the entire cost of the experience must be paid for by the volunteer. Guidelines are given to assist the prospective relief worker in looking for an appropriate agency, such as to obtain a complete job description; know the details of living arrangements; make sure you have compatible philosophies; ask about health concerns; find out if adequate health insurance is provided; and gain knowledge of the culture (e.g., especially about customs, relationships of nationals to relief workers, and religious beliefs). Interested health care providers can write to any of the organizations to obtain further information.