What Can Student-Run Free Clinics Do for Rural Ethnic Villages in China?

The Sunshine and Love Free Clinic Rural Medical Trip Initiative to Dimen Village

  • Mengyi Zha, MD La Crosse – Mayo Clinic Health System
  • Yunyi Huang California Institute of Integral Studies
  • Xueying Ren Peking University Health Science Center
  • Dan Chen Beijing Television Station
Keywords: rural health, china, student-run clinic, cultural competence

Abstract

The Sunshine and Love Free Clinic is China’s first and only student-run free clinic. Two successful outreach projects to a rural ethnic village, Dimen, by the volunteers of the clinic took place in 2015: a pilot project focusing on women’s health, and a larger medical service trip focusing on record building and clinical visits. While the indigenous healing is a great recourse, four major health-related issues were identified through these projects: women’s health and reproductive health; chronic illness care; a lack of formal medical training among the village clinic staff; and a lack of patient record system. This article proposes that a summer service trip model can be utilized by student-run free clinics in China to tackle these issues, and provide sustainable intermittent long term health care for the rural ethnic China in a culturally sensitive manner.

Published
2017-05-07
How to Cite
Zha, M., Huang, Y., Ren, X., & Chen, D. (2017). What Can Student-Run Free Clinics Do for Rural Ethnic Villages in China?. Journal of Student-Run Clinics, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.59586/jsrc.v3i1.31
Section
Descriptive Report