Virginia Via Research Day Book 2026

Medical Student Research Public Health

16 REFERRAL RATES FOR SHORT-TERM INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL MISSION TRIPS

Indra Kapoor, OMS-II, Brunda Bellamkonda, OMS-II, Ana Jones, Jonas Rawlins, DO Corresponding author: ikapoor@vcom.edu; bbellamkonda@vcom.edu

VCOM-Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia

long-term impact of short-term medical mission trips on local populations, especially since establishing data collection with other countries has been difficult to document By looking at referral rates for the VCOM medical mission trips, we hope to find what medical conditions require follow-up from our clinics in Honduras and the Dominican Republic, with the ultimate goal as establishing follow-up care protocol with the local physicians. By reviewing the return rate of patients at short term VCOM medical mission trips, it can be determined what other treatments can be provided by medical students during the week. Objective/Hypothesis: How many patients seen during a short term VCOM mission trip in 2025 required referrals to local physicians, and what are the most common medical conditions that required the referrals? Primary objective : To determine the documented frequency and indicated conditions associated with those referrals to local physicians for the 2025 VCOM mission trips. ​ Secondary objectives: • To evaluate any trends in demographic data as they relate to referral rates and frequency

•To add to VCOM’S current mission trip documentation to allow for improved patient referral tracking and continuity of care Methods: The research design includes a qualitative and quantitative study using retrospective data collected from the 2025 and 2026 VCOM mission trips with regard to referral rates and indications. The project plan includes reviewing all the de-identified patient charts for each of the 2025-2026 mission trips, compiling the data to determine how many patients were referred to a local physician or clinic, and determining the associated conditions. The ultimate goal of this study is to better inform the organization, planning, and preparation for short term medical mission trips by identifying gaps in care leading to referrals and opportunities to meet those needs.

Context: International short term medical service trips have been used as an opportunity to increase healthcare access to low-income regions of the world, where physician shortages are high, and medical resources are limited. VCOM is one of the many medical schools in the United States to provide such services to the rural communities abroad, specifically Honduras and the Dominican Republic. The students, along with their preceptors complete the history of present illness, physical exams, and provide treatment to the patients. For conditions that cannot be treated with the resources at the mobile clinics, the in-country physicians on call will provide a referral to a local clinic for further treatment and evaluation. Medical students are required to document every medical decision onto a patient chart that is kept by VCOM. While mobile clinics are able to provide immediate interventions for acute problems, the clinics do not have the capacity to handle more chronic illnesses that require long-term interventions. This leads to the question of how many patients are referred to local clinics after being seen by a VCOM volunteer, and how many of those patients go to their follow-up appointments. There is currently limited data on the

Table of Contents

30 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)