title: Travel clinic consultation and risk assessment.
abstract: A significant number of travellers sustain travel-related injury or illness, despite receiving pretravel advice. This appears to be due to a combination of inconsistent guidance about risks and recommendations, and partial adherence. This article considers perceptions and attitudes to risk, factors affecting uptake of advice, and features of an effective consultation. A framework is proposed for a pretravel consultation, using a shared decision-making approach. Engaging the traveller as an active participant in maintaining their own health and providing balanced, evidence-based information about risks and benefits is predicted to enhance the effectiveness of the pretravel consultation.
authors.affiliation: UCL Medical School, University College London, London, UK. lorraine.noble@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Lorraine M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.forename: Adrienne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Willcox
authors.forename: Ronald H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Behrens
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D057236:Travel Medicine / Q000379:methods*