InterHealth, London, UK.
Travel Med Infect Dis. 2012 Jul;10(4):172-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2012.04.002. Epub 2012 May 28.
People of all ages volunteer in developing countries, but little is known about the health risks they face. InterHealth, a travel clinic, provides a health screening service for short-term overseas volunteers. A cross-sectional study design was used to analyse 413 post-travel health questionnaires completed between February and November 2009. The sample consisted of volunteers who worked on short-term projects in developing countries for a variety of non-governmental organisations. At least one sick day was taken by 137 (33.2%) participants. Medical care was accessed by 39 (9.6%) participants, and standby medication was used by 87 (21.6%) participants. Diarrhoea, especially amongst those aged under 20 or who visited Latin America, was the most commonly reported health problem (95; 23.9%). Possible exposure to schistosomiasis was reported by 56 (13.8%) participants, mostly from East Africa. Upon return, the majority of participants (371; 91.2%) reported feeling well. The findings of this study show the importance of tailored post-travel health screening for short-term overseas volunteers. This study may help to tailor pre-departure travel health consultations for this group, particularly around food hygiene, hand washing and potential exposure to infection, but further research is needed to assess the impact of pre-travel health advice.
不同年龄段的人均有在发展中国家做志愿者，但人们对他们所面临的健康风险知之甚少。国际医疗救援组织（InterHealth）是一家旅行诊所，为短期海外志愿者提供健康筛查服务。该研究采用横断面研究设计，分析了 2009 年 2 月至 11 月期间完成的 413 份旅行后健康问卷。该样本由在发展中国家为各种非政府组织从事短期项目的志愿者组成。137 名（33.2%）参与者请了至少一天病假。39 名（9.6%）参与者寻求了医疗护理，87 名（21.6%）参与者使用了备用药物。腹泻，尤其是在 20 岁以下或前往拉丁美洲的人群中，是最常见的健康问题（95 例；23.9%）。56 名（13.8%）参与者报告可能接触过血吸虫病，主要来自东非。返回后，大多数参与者（371 名；91.2%）报告感觉良好。这项研究的结果表明，为短期海外志愿者提供有针对性的旅行后健康筛查非常重要。这项研究可能有助于为这一群体量身定制出发前旅行健康咨询，特别是在饮食卫生、洗手和潜在感染暴露方面，但需要进一步研究来评估旅行前健康建议的影响。
