International short-term medical missions: a systematic review of recommended practices

To identify practices for conducting international short-term medical missions (STMMs) recommended in the literature and examine how these link STMMs to recipient countries' existing health systems.

Systematic review of PubMed-indexed articles on STMMs and their bibliographies using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. Recommendations were organized using the World Health Organization Health Systems Framework.

In 92 publications, 67 % offered at least one recommendation that would link STMMs to the recipient country's health system. Among these recommendations, most focused on service delivery and few on health financing and governance. There is a lack of consensus around a proper standard of care, patient selection, and trip duration.

Comprehensive global standards are needed for STMM work to ensure that services are beneficial both to patients and to the broader healthcare systems of recipient countries. By providing an overview of the current recommendations and important gaps where practice recommendations are needed, this study can provide relevant input into the development of global standards for STMMs.