Establishing a student-run free clinic in a major city in Northern Europe: a 1-year experience from Hamburg, Germany

TY - JOUR

T1 - Establishing a student-run free clinic in a major city in Northern Europe: a 1-year experience from Hamburg, Germany

AU - Drexler, Richard

AU - Fröschle, Felix

AU - Predel, Christopher

AU - Sturm, Berit

AU - Ustorf, Klara

AU - Lehner, Louisa

AU - Janzen, Jara

AU - Valentin, Lisa

AU - Scheer, Tristan

AU - Lehnert, Franziska

AU - Tadzic, Refmir

AU - Oldhafer, Karl Jürgen

AU - Meyer, Tobias N

N1 - © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.

PY - 2020/11/23

Y1 - 2020/11/23

N2 - BACKGROUND: Student-Run Free Clinics (SRFCs) have been an integral part of US medical schools since the 1960s and provide health care to underserved populations. In 2018, we established an SRFC in Hamburg, Germany, a major city in Northern Europe. The aim of this study was to describe the central problems and to investigate the usefulness of an SRFC in a country with free access to medical care, such as Germany.METHODS: All consecutive patients treated at the SRFC Hamburg between February 2018 and March 2019 that consented to this study were analyzed regarding clinical characteristics, diagnosis, readmission rate and country of origin.RESULTS: Between February 2018 and March 2019, 229 patients were treated at the SRFC in Hamburg. The patients came from 33 different countries with a majority (n = 206, 90%) from countries inside the European Union. The most common reasons for visiting the SRFC were infections (23.2%), acute or chronic wounds (13.5%) and fractures (6.3%).CONCLUSION: Our multicultural patients suffer mainly from infections and traumatological and dermatological diseases. We find similarities to published Canadian SRFC patient cohorts but differences in diseases and treatment modalities compared to US SRFCs. Importantly, we demonstrate the relevance and necessity of the SRFC in a major city in Northern Europe.

AB - BACKGROUND: Student-Run Free Clinics (SRFCs) have been an integral part of US medical schools since the 1960s and provide health care to underserved populations. In 2018, we established an SRFC in Hamburg, Germany, a major city in Northern Europe. The aim of this study was to describe the central problems and to investigate the usefulness of an SRFC in a country with free access to medical care, such as Germany.METHODS: All consecutive patients treated at the SRFC Hamburg between February 2018 and March 2019 that consented to this study were analyzed regarding clinical characteristics, diagnosis, readmission rate and country of origin.RESULTS: Between February 2018 and March 2019, 229 patients were treated at the SRFC in Hamburg. The patients came from 33 different countries with a majority (n = 206, 90%) from countries inside the European Union. The most common reasons for visiting the SRFC were infections (23.2%), acute or chronic wounds (13.5%) and fractures (6.3%).CONCLUSION: Our multicultural patients suffer mainly from infections and traumatological and dermatological diseases. We find similarities to published Canadian SRFC patient cohorts but differences in diseases and treatment modalities compared to US SRFCs. Importantly, we demonstrate the relevance and necessity of the SRFC in a major city in Northern Europe.

KW - Ambulatory Care Facilities

KW - Canada

KW - Europe

KW - Germany/epidemiology

KW - Humans

KW - Student Run Clinic

U2 - 10.1093/pubmed/fdz165

DO - 10.1093/pubmed/fdz165

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 31840742

VL - 42

SP - 793

EP - 798

JO - J PUBLIC HEALTH-UK

JF - J PUBLIC HEALTH-UK

SN - 1741-3842

IS - 4

ER -