Landy David C, Gorin Michael A, O'Connell Mark T
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
South Med J. 2011 Aug;104(8):598-603. doi: 10.1097/SMJ.0b013e31822580a9.
Residents of rural communities, especially in the Southeast, have decreased access to health care. Ensuring medical students receive adequate exposure to their issues is complicated by the urban location of most schools. We describe health fairs conducted in rural communities to suggest how having medical students use screening tools can identify patients with risk factors for disease which can offer students the opportunity to learn about rural health issues through patient counseling.
The Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service, a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine student-led organization, conducts fairs at four sites throughout the rural Florida Keys. Medical students, under the supervision of attending physicians, offer screening and preventive health services including risk factor screening for cardiovascular disease, ophthalmological exams, dermatologic exams, osteoporosis screening, and female exams with pap smears. These fairs were reviewed.
In the past three years, 1694 unique patients were seen. Many lacked a primary care provider (46%) or health insurance (43%) and were provided screening for several disorders including cardiovascular disease risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity). Screening revealed that many patients (41%) had multiple markers of elevated cardiovascular disease risk. This provided experiences to more than 200 students each year.
Fairs provide medical students exposure to rural health issues through the valuable opportunity of using risk factor screening tools and counseling. This provides valuable information to patients of rural communities. Future research should examine how fairs influence student knowledge and attitudes toward rural health and affect health outcomes.
农村社区居民，尤其是东南部地区的居民，获得医疗保健的机会减少。由于大多数医学院校位于城市，确保医学生充分接触农村医疗问题变得复杂。我们描述了在农村社区举办的健康集市，以说明让医学生使用筛查工具如何能够识别有疾病风险因素的患者，这可以为学生提供通过患者咨询了解农村健康问题的机会。
迈阿密大学米勒医学院学生主导的组织米切尔·沃尔夫森社区服务部在佛罗里达群岛农村的四个地点举办集市。医学生在主治医生的监督下，提供筛查和预防性健康服务，包括心血管疾病风险因素筛查、眼科检查、皮肤科检查、骨质疏松症筛查以及巴氏涂片女性检查。对这些集市进行了评估。
在过去三年中，共接待了1694名不同的患者。许多患者没有初级保健医生（46%）或医疗保险（43%），并接受了多种疾病的筛查，包括心血管疾病风险因素（高血压、糖尿病、血脂异常和肥胖）。筛查发现，许多患者（41%）有多种心血管疾病风险升高的指标。每年为200多名学生提供了实践机会。
健康集市通过让医学生使用风险因素筛查工具和进行咨询，为他们提供了接触农村健康问题的机会。这为农村社区的患者提供了有价值的信息。未来的研究应考察健康集市如何影响学生对农村健康的知识和态度以及对健康结果的影响。
