Heslop Ian M, Speare Richard, Bellingan Michelle, Glass Beverley D
Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia.
School of Pharmacy, College of Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK.
Pharmacy (Basel). 2020 May 31;8(2):94. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy8020094.
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.
在全球范围内，旅行者的数量不断增加，药剂师有潜力在为大量此类旅行者提供旅行前健康服务方面发挥重要作用。然而，研究药剂师是否具备提供这些服务所需旅行健康知识的研究有限。因此，本研究旨在探索澳大利亚药剂师的旅行健康知识。评估药剂师旅行健康知识的调查问卷通过澳大利亚药学会和社区药房进行分发，以供自行填写。总体而言，参与者的旅行健康知识水平良好。然而，尽管大多数参与者了解旅行健康中发病和死亡的常见原因，但有些人对疟疾的流行率略有高估，并且对某些疾病的全球分布了解较少。大多数参与者还展示了在旅行者腹泻管理、旅行急救包中合适物品的选择、疫苗接种以及前往流行地区旅行者的疟疾化学预防等方面提供适当建议的能力。本研究强调，澳大利亚药剂师具备提供旅行健康建议的知识，有潜力改善旅行者获得服务的机会和服务效果。
