Australian Pharmacists' Perceptions and Practices in Travel Health

Practices, barriers and facilitators to the delivery of pretravel health services by community pharmacists: A scoping review using the theoretical domains framework

BACKGROUND

The involvement of community pharmacists (CPs) in the provision of pretravel health services is increasing due to the increase in international travelers, the increased risk of travel-related diseases, and the expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice in some countries. In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of pretravel health care provided by CPs, a greater understanding of the practices, barriers, and facilitators is required.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aimed to identify and describe existing studies on pretravel health services provided by CPs, and the barriers, and facilitators.

METHODS

The PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for pertinent studies from their inception to February 2023. A manual search was also conducted of prominent travel medicine journals, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of the included studies. Potential barriers and facilitators were mapped to the 14 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

RESULTS

There were twelve studies included in the review. Pretravel health advice was the most prevalent form of pretravel health services. Within ten domains of the TDF, various factors that either facilitate or impede the provision of pretravel health services by CPs were identified.

CONCLUSION

The provision of pretravel health services by CPs may be affected by a number of practitioner and organizational factors. The provision of pretravel health services can be facilitated by informational resources, training and education in travel medicine, and collaboration amongst healthcare providers.

Assessing the Travel Health Knowledge of Australian Pharmacists

Worldwide, the numbers of travellers are increasing, with pharmacists having the potential to play a significant role in the provision of pre-travel health services to a large number of these travellers. However, studies examining whether pharmacists have the travel health knowledge to provide these services are limited. This study thus aimed to explore the travel health knowledge of Australian pharmacists. Surveys assessing pharmacists’ knowledge of travel health were distributed through the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and community pharmacies for self-completion. Overall, the travel health knowledge of participants was found to be good. However, although the majority of participants were aware of the common causes of morbidity and mortality in travel health, some slightly overestimated the prevalence of malaria and were less knowledgeable about the global distribution of some diseases. Most participants also demonstrated an ability to give appropriate advice on the management of traveller’s diarhoea, the selection of appropriate items for inclusion in travel first aid kits, vaccinations, and malarial chemoprophylaxis for travellers visiting endemic areas. This study highlights that Australian pharmacists have the knowledge to deliver travel health advice, with the potential to improve both access and outcomes for travellers.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Infectious Diseases Related to Travel of Community Pharmacists in Italy

Pharmacists should be educated about travel medicine, since they could influence their own choices and those of the individuals they encounter. This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards infectious diseases related to travel among community pharmacists in Italy. The data was collected from September 2018 to September 2019 using semi-structured telephone interviews. Only 1.8% answered correctly to all seven questions regarding the infectious diseases related to travel. Community pharmacists who had heard about travel medicine and those who had received information were more likely to have good knowledge. More than two-thirds of the respondents believed that it is important to provide information to the public about travel medicine. Pharmacists who worked a higher number of hours per week, were more knowledgeable about the more frequent infectious diseases related to travel, believed that travel medicine was a pharmacist competency, believed that they could give advice to the public, and had received information from scientific journals and educational activities were more likely to have this positive attitude. More than two-thirds often/always informed the public about the importance of having travel health center counseling. Pharmacists who had heard about travel medicine and those who believed that they could give advice to the public were more likely to inform. Interventions are needed to improve knowledge in order that community pharmacists can play an active role in counseling the public.

Travel health-related activities and services provided by community pharmacies in Selangor, Malaysia: A cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND

Millions of tourists visit Malaysia annually while a large number of Malaysians travel overseas. Taking care of travellers' healthcare needs is important aspect of the healthcare system. Community pharmacies are ideally positioned to provide travel health-related services. However, studies are lacking in this area. Therefore, this study aims to explore the nature and type of travel health-related services provided by Malaysian community pharmacies.

METHODS

A survey was carried out at 135 community pharmacies in nine districts of Selangor, Malaysia, from November 2017 to February 2018, using a self-administered standardized questionnaire.

RESULTS

The majority (n = 95, 85%) of community pharmacies reported to have provided services to both international travellers and outbound Malaysian travellers. The common healthcare services provided to international travellers were monitoring of chronic diseases including hypertension and diabetes, and advice on minor ailments, supplements and medical devices. The key health services provided to outbound Malaysian travellers were advice on vaccination requirements, better management of chronic diseases and necessary medications to manage illness during travel. Most of the respondents supported the provision of travel health-related services through the community pharmacies.

CONCLUSION

The study findings showed that Malaysian community pharmacies provided several travel health-related services to both international and Malaysian outbound travellers. Pharmacists in Malaysia are ideally positioned to have an increased role in travel medicine. They have the training to advise on complex medication issues especially with regard to interactions and polypharmacy. However, further training and courses should be provided that are tailored specifically for the needs of this professional group.