title: Travel itinerary uncertainty and the pre-travel consultation--a pilot study.
abstract: Risk assessment relies on the accuracy of the information provided by the traveller. A questionnaire was administered to 83 consecutive travellers attending a travel medicine clinic. The majority of travellers was uncertain about destinations within countries, transportation or type of accommodation. Most travellers were uncertain if they would be visiting malaria regions. The degree of uncertainty about itinerary potentially impacts on the ability of the travel medicine specialist to perform an adequate risk assessment, select appropriate vaccinations and prescribe malaria prophylaxis. This study reveals high levels of traveller uncertainty about their itinerary which may potentially reduce the effectiveness of their pre-travel consultation.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland and School of Medicine, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia gerard.flaherty@nuigalway.ie.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flaherty
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland and.
authors.forename: Muhammad Najmi
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Md Nor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel; D057236:Travel Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D035501:Uncertainty; D014611:Vaccination; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials
keywords: Travel; consultation; itinerary; risk assessment; uncertainty