title: Improving the uptake of pre-travel health advice amongst migrant Australians: exploring the attitudes of primary care providers and migrant community groups.
abstract: Migrant travellers who return to their country of origin to visit family and friends (VFR) are less likely to seek travel-related medical care and are less likely to adhere to recommended medications and travel precautions. Through this study, we aimed to get an understanding of the views of stakeholders from community migrant centres and primary care providers on barriers for migrants, particularly from non-English speaking backgrounds, in accessing travel health advice and the strategies that could be used to engage them.
  
  
  
  A qualitative study involving 20 semi-structured interviews was undertaken in Sydney, Australia between January 2013 and September 2014. Thematic analysis was undertaken.
  
  
  
  Language barriers, a lower perceived risk of travel-related infections and the financial costs of seeking pre-travel health care were nominated as being the key barriers impacting on the uptake of pre-travel health advice and precautions. To overcome pre-existing language barriers, participants advocated for the use of bilingual community educators, community radio, ethnic newspapers and posters in the dissemination of pre-travel health information.
  
  
  
  Travel is a major vector of importation of infectious diseases into Australia, and VFR travellers are at high risk of infection. Collaboration between the Government, primary care physicians, migrant community groups and migrants themselves is crucial if we are to be successful in reducing travel-related risks among this subgroup of travellers.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. h.seale@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seale
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Rajneesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Abela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahimbo
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.|National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: C Raina
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: MacIntyre
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zwar
authors.affiliation: NSW Refugee Health Service, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Mitchell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Worth
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Anita E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Heywood
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology*; D014195:Travel / Q000523:psychology*; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attitudes; Infectious diseases; Migrants; Travel; Vaccination; Visiting friends and relatives