Mobile Traveling Healthcare Teams: An Innovative Delivery System for Underserved Populations
Reaching disenfranchised clients who are either underinsured or who have no insurance presents unique challenges for healthcare providers and organizations. To reach clients experiencing disparities in healthcare access, a social determinant of health, innovative models of healthcare delivery must be developed. The Juntos for Better Health project directly focused on the social determinant of lack of access to care for prevention and treatment of diabetes, depression, and obesity. In the article, we discuss the background that provided the framework for this project, reviewing literature related to mobile vans and traveling nurses, and then describe the geographical traveling healthcare team setting. The article discusses the Juntos for Better Health project, including several phases of implementation, services of the traveling healthcare team delivery system, and partnerships that included four healthcare providers and a state university in a United States-Mexico border town located in Texas. Partnering agencies included a community-based federally qualified healthcare center, the local state mental health authority, the city health department, and the local drug treatment agency. The conclusion briefly describes plans for the future.