Abdullah Abu Saleh M, Hamer Davidson H
Department of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Travel Med Infect Dis. 2006 Dec;4(6):324-31. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2005.12.001. Epub 2006 Feb 17.
Although there has been a marked increase in travel among Hong Kong residents, travel-related health risks have not been well characterized nor has their use of travel medicine services.
To assess the travel health care needs of Chinese residents in Hong Kong by examining travel health problems of returning Hong Kong residents and by understanding their use of travel health services before or after travel.
Review of available data followed by a cross-sectional telephone survey of 280 travellers and 15 service providers. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. Household members, who were ethnic Chinese, aged 15-64 years, able to communicate in Cantonese, and who had travelled at least once during the preceding 12 months were invited to participate.
There was a scarcity of travel medicine services in Hong Kong. The most common destinations for travellers were countries in the Asia-Pacific region, especially mainland China (33%). Twenty percent of the respondents developed health problems during or shortly after travel. Although only 9% of respondents had received pre-travel health advice, 61% used some form of precautions. Twelve percent had lost at least a day due to travel-related health problems. The service providers agreed that there are demands for travel health services. However, half of the service providers had not been trained in travel or tropical medicine.
This study indicates the need for specialized travel medicine services in Hong Kong to improve the health of travellers.
尽管香港居民的出行显著增加，但与旅行相关的健康风险尚未得到充分描述，他们对旅行医学服务的使用情况也不明确。
通过调查回港居民的旅行健康问题，并了解他们在旅行前或旅行后对旅行健康服务的使用情况，评估香港中国居民的旅行医疗保健需求。
先回顾现有数据，然后对280名旅行者和15名服务提供者进行横断面电话调查。使用经过预测试的结构化问卷收集数据。邀请年龄在15 - 64岁、能说粤语、在过去12个月内至少旅行过一次的华裔家庭成员参与。
香港的旅行医学服务匮乏。旅行者最常前往的目的地是亚太地区国家，尤其是中国内地（33%）。20%的受访者在旅行期间或旅行后不久出现健康问题。虽然只有9%的受访者接受过旅行前健康建议，但61%采取了某种形式的预防措施。12%的人因与旅行相关的健康问题至少损失了一天时间。服务提供者一致认为对旅行健康服务有需求。然而，一半的服务提供者未接受过旅行或热带医学方面的培训。
本研究表明香港需要专门的旅行医学服务以改善旅行者的健康状况。
