Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar

<p dir="ltr">In an era of globalization, travel-related illnesses have become a focus of public health concern. Pretravel consultation is an effective measure to promote healthy travel. This study aimed to assess the scope of primary care physicians’ (PCPs) practice of travel medicin...

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Main Author: Ayman Al-Dahshan (8962568) (author)
Other Authors: Nagah Selim (12234725) (author), Noora Al-Kubaisi (12329224) (author), Ziyad Mahfoud (15883) (author), Vahe Kehyayan (8962580) (author)
Published: 2023
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author Ayman Al-Dahshan (8962568)
author2 Nagah Selim (12234725)
Noora Al-Kubaisi (12329224)
Ziyad Mahfoud (15883)
Vahe Kehyayan (8962580)
author2_role author
author
author
author
author_facet Ayman Al-Dahshan (8962568)
Nagah Selim (12234725)
Noora Al-Kubaisi (12329224)
Ziyad Mahfoud (15883)
Vahe Kehyayan (8962580)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ayman Al-Dahshan (8962568)
Nagah Selim (12234725)
Noora Al-Kubaisi (12329224)
Ziyad Mahfoud (15883)
Vahe Kehyayan (8962580)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023-10-01T00:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Scope_and_Predictors_of_Travel_Medicine_Practice_among_Primary_Care_Physicians_in_Qatar/23918436
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Health sciences
Epidemiology
Nursing
Public health
Travel medicine
Practice
Physicians
Primary healthcare
Qatar
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Journal contribution
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
contribution to journal
description <p dir="ltr">In an era of globalization, travel-related illnesses have become a focus of public health concern. Pretravel consultation is an effective measure to promote healthy travel. This study aimed to assess the scope of primary care physicians’ (PCPs) practice of travel medicine (TM) in Qatar and its associated predictors. This was a crosssectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from all PCPs working in the 27 primary healthcare centers in Qatar. Descriptive and analytic statistics were used as appropriate, and a multivariable logistic regression model was constructed. Three hundred sixty-four PCPs participated in the study (response rate of 89.2%). Most PCPs (91.1%) provided pretravel consultations of which 72.7% provided less than 10 consultations per month. Overall, pretravel advice content and frequency including vaccine and malaria chemoprophylaxis recommendations were inadequate. Significant predictors of high frequency of pretravel consultations (≥10/month) included male PCPs (AOR 1.78, 95% CI: 1.01, 3.18), PCPs who had postgraduate training or experience in TM (AOR 2.74, 95% CI: 1.59, 4.72), and multilingual (speaking ≥3 languages) physicians (AOR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.12, 3.45). Frequently encountered post-travel illnesses included travelers’ diarrhea, respiratory diseases, and fever. While, most PCPs provided pretravel consultations, the frequency and content of consultations were inadequate. Male PCPs, past training or experience in TM, and multilingual physicians were important predictors of providing a high frequency of pretravel consultation. The findings of this study identified several gaps in PCPs’ TM practice. Specific measures should be designed and implemented to reduce the burden of travel-related illnesses and promote healthy travel.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Preventive Medicine Reports<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337</a></p>
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
id Manara2_6e27264c0cf0ad7249fe0fb791c7160c
identifier_str_mv 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337
network_acronym_str Manara2
network_name_str Manara2
oai_identifier_str oai:figshare.com:article/23918436
publishDate 2023
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rights_invalid_str_mv CC BY 4.0
spelling Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in QatarAyman Al-Dahshan (8962568)Nagah Selim (12234725)Noora Al-Kubaisi (12329224)Ziyad Mahfoud (15883)Vahe Kehyayan (8962580)Health sciencesEpidemiologyNursingPublic healthTravel medicinePracticePhysiciansPrimary healthcareQatar<p dir="ltr">In an era of globalization, travel-related illnesses have become a focus of public health concern. Pretravel consultation is an effective measure to promote healthy travel. This study aimed to assess the scope of primary care physicians’ (PCPs) practice of travel medicine (TM) in Qatar and its associated predictors. This was a crosssectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from all PCPs working in the 27 primary healthcare centers in Qatar. Descriptive and analytic statistics were used as appropriate, and a multivariable logistic regression model was constructed. Three hundred sixty-four PCPs participated in the study (response rate of 89.2%). Most PCPs (91.1%) provided pretravel consultations of which 72.7% provided less than 10 consultations per month. Overall, pretravel advice content and frequency including vaccine and malaria chemoprophylaxis recommendations were inadequate. Significant predictors of high frequency of pretravel consultations (≥10/month) included male PCPs (AOR 1.78, 95% CI: 1.01, 3.18), PCPs who had postgraduate training or experience in TM (AOR 2.74, 95% CI: 1.59, 4.72), and multilingual (speaking ≥3 languages) physicians (AOR 1.96, 95% CI: 1.12, 3.45). Frequently encountered post-travel illnesses included travelers’ diarrhea, respiratory diseases, and fever. While, most PCPs provided pretravel consultations, the frequency and content of consultations were inadequate. Male PCPs, past training or experience in TM, and multilingual physicians were important predictors of providing a high frequency of pretravel consultation. The findings of this study identified several gaps in PCPs’ TM practice. Specific measures should be designed and implemented to reduce the burden of travel-related illnesses and promote healthy travel.</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Preventive Medicine Reports<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337</a></p>2023-10-01T00:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102337https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Scope_and_Predictors_of_Travel_Medicine_Practice_among_Primary_Care_Physicians_in_Qatar/23918436CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/239184362023-10-01T00:00:00Z
spellingShingle Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
Ayman Al-Dahshan (8962568)
Health sciences
Epidemiology
Nursing
Public health
Travel medicine
Practice
Physicians
Primary healthcare
Qatar
status_str publishedVersion
title Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
title_full Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
title_fullStr Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
title_full_unstemmed Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
title_short Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
title_sort Scope and Predictors of Travel Medicine Practice among Primary Care Physicians in Qatar
topic Health sciences
Epidemiology
Nursing
Public health
Travel medicine
Practice
Physicians
Primary healthcare
Qatar