Ethical issues associated with medical tourism in Africa

Abstract

Global disparities in medical technologies, laws, economic inequities, and social–cultural differences drive medical tourism (MT), the practice of travelling to consume healthcare that is either too delayed, unavailable, unaffordable or legally proscribed at home. Africa is simultaneously a source and destination for MT. MT however, presents a new and challenging health ethics frontier, being largely unregulated and characterized by policy contradictions, minority discrimination and conflict of interest among role-players. This article assesses the level of knowledge of MT and its associated ethical issues in Africa; it also identifies critical research gaps on the subject in the region. Exploratory design guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework was used. Key search terms and prior determined exclusion/inclusion criteria were used to identify relevant literature sources. Fifty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Distributive justice, healthcare resource allocation, experimental treatments and organ transplant were the most common ethical issues of medical tourism in Africa. The dearth of robust engagement of MT and healthcare ethics, as identified through this review, calls for more rigorous research on this subject. Although the bulk of the medical tourism industry is driven by global legal disparities based on ethical considerations, little attention has been given to this subject.

21st century obstetrics: a 50-year-old nullip—walk in the park?

“…Furthermore, there is suggestion that private reproductive companies abroad may compromise rights of women from low socioeconomic backgrounds, to become egg donors, for example 11. Cheaper reproductive technologies abroad feed into partially informed consumerism which are often prioritised over a patient’s health interests 12. In addition, it could be argued that the return of health tourists to their native country releases foreign medical teams from their duty of care 12…”

The Ethics of International Medical Tourism

“…However, international medical tourism raises ethical questions with regard to distributive justice and the allocation of health-care resources 12,28 . The care of medical tourists can be resource-intensive and can drain finite resources, such as medical staff time, hospital beds, interpreters, and cultural liaisons 12 .…”

Assessing the associated medical, legal, and social issues in medical tourism and its implications for Nigeria

“…Cases where some patients acquired hepatitis B during cardiac surgery in Pakistan and renal transplantation in India have been documented [ 18 ]. The unethical practice of using foreign patients especially those from low- and middle-income countries for experimental treatment without informing them about the negative outcome associated with such procedure and the trend of organ harvesting of dead foreign patients without approval from the deceased family has been observed [ 19 ]. Curiosity about the efficacy of health professionals who carry out medical procedures on patients in foreign hospitals has also been raised.…”

“…Social issues in medical tourism: medical tourism is an act of neo-colonialism that makes low- and middle-income countries lack confidence in their healthcare system and dependent on the developed world [ 19 ]. Medical tourism reduces healthcare to a commodity, one that can only be accessed by privileged individuals.…”