title: "The Major Forces that Need to Back Medical Tourism Were … in Alignment": Championing Development of Barbados's Medical Tourism Sector.
abstract: Governments around the world have expressed interest in developing local medical tourism sectors, framing the industry as an opportunity for economic growth and health system improvement. This article addresses questions about how the desire to develop a medical tourism sector in a country emerges and which stakeholders are involved in both creating momentum and informing its progress. Presenting a thematic analysis of 19 key informant interviews conducted with domestic and international stakeholders in Barbados's medical tourism sector in 2011, we examine the roles that "actors" and "champions" at home and abroad have played in the sector's development. Physicians and the Barbadian government, along with international investors, the Medical Tourism Association, and development agencies, have promoted the industry, while actors such as medical tourists and international hospital accreditation companies are passively framing the terms of how medical tourism is unfolding in Barbados. Within this context, we seek to better understand the roles and relationships of various actors and champions implicated in the development of medical tourism in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of how the sector is emerging in Barbados and elsewhere and how its development might impact equitable health system development.
authors: Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6 Canada Rrj1@sfu.ca.
authors: Rory
authors: R
authors: Johnston
authors: Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6 Canada.
authors: Valorie A
authors: VA
authors: Crooks
authors: Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors: Jeremy
authors: J
authors: Snyder
authors: Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6 Canada.
authors: Rebecca
authors: R
authors: Whitmore
mesh_terms: D001460:Barbados; D057191:Capacity Building / Q000458:organization & administration*; D057217:Economic Development; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D057193:Medical Tourism
keywords: Barbados; Caribbean; economic development; health equity; health service export; medical tourism; policy transfer