Motivators and mechanisms for an international rural health collaboration.
Sci Rep
; 14(1): 19570, 2024 08 23.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39174698
ABSTRACT
Collaborations are critical to address rural health challenges. We evaluated a new international collaboration between institutions in Georgia, the United States (US), and Scotland, United Kingdom (UK), to address rural health issues and to understand the barriers and facilitators to effective international collaboration efforts. A qualitative approach was used through in-depth interviews and focus groups with educators, researchers, and healthcare providers in the US and Scotland who were involved in the CONVERGE international rural health collaboration. Transcriptions were imported into the NVivo qualitative software program. A reflexive thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes from the collected data. Twelve interviews and two focus groups were conducted virtually with 17 participants. Two primary domains were identified from the thematic analysis:
(1) motivators that increase engagement in international collaboration, and (2) mechanisms for, and barriers to, the continuity needed to create meaningful change. Six themes emerged related to commonality of issues, prospect of sharing knowledge, need of sustained funding and institutional support, and selection of human resources. Participants of CONVERGE were more likely to engage when they had a space to share ways to address challenging issues and integrate knowledge and practice. They were motivated by their desire for growth and the institutions they serve and emphasized that infrastructure support is vital for sustainable collaborations.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Rural Health
/
International Cooperation
/
Motivation
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
/
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Sci Rep
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States
Country of publication:
United kingdom