International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study
Background: Approximately the 8% of travelers requires medical care, with the diagnosis of a vaccine-preventable disease. The aim of our study was to analyze the socio-demographic, health and travel characteristics of the Italian international travelers. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2017-03-01
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| Series: | Annals of Global Health |
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| Online Access: | https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/241 |
| _version_ | 1818425985832321024 |
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| author | Gianmarco Troiano Astrid Mercone Alessandra Bagnoli Nicola Nante |
| author_facet | Gianmarco Troiano Astrid Mercone Alessandra Bagnoli Nicola Nante |
| author_sort | Gianmarco Troiano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Approximately the 8% of travelers requires medical care, with the diagnosis of a vaccine-preventable disease. The aim of our study was to analyze the socio-demographic, health and travel characteristics of the Italian international travelers. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study from January 2015 to June 2016, at the Travel Medicine Clinic of Siena, asking the doctor to interview patients who attended the Clinic, recording socio-demographic and travel information, malaria prophylaxis, vaccinations. The data were organized in a database and processed by software Stata®. Results: We collected 419 questionnaires. Patients chose 71 countries for their travels; the favorite destinations were: India (6.31%), Thailand (6.31%), and Brazil (5.10%). The mean length of stay was 36.17 days. Italians, students, and freelancers tended to stay abroad for a longer time (mean: 36.4 days, 59.87 days and 64.16 days respectively). 33.17% of our sample used drugs for malaria chemoprophylaxis: 71.9% of them used Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone®), 26.6% used Mefloquine (Lariam®), 1.5% other drugs. The vaccinations that travelers mostly got in our study were to prevent hepatitis A (n = 264), the typhoid fever (n = 187), the Tetanus + Diphtheria + Pertussis (n = 165), the Yellow fever (n = 118) and the cholera (n = 78).</p><p id="abspara0025">Twenty-eight (6.68%) refused some recommended vaccinations. The vaccines mostly refused were for Typhoid fever (n = 20), hepatitis a (n = 9), and cholera (n = 9). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that Italian international travelers are at-risk because of their poor vaccinations adherence. This implies that pre-travel counseling is fundamental to increase the knowledge of the risks and the compliance of future travelers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T14:22:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8c83527fc7e446997af0b060039c10a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-9996 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T14:22:38Z |
| publishDate | 2017-03-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Global Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8c83527fc7e446997af0b060039c10a2022-12-21T22:58:02ZengUbiquity PressAnnals of Global Health2214-99962017-03-0183238038510.1016/j.aogh.2016.12.004173International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian StudyGianmarco Troiano0Astrid Mercone1Alessandra Bagnoli2Nicola Nante3Post Graduate School of Public Health University of Siena, Siena, ItalyPublic Hygiene and Nutrition, USL Tuscany Southeast, Tuscany, ItalyPublic Hygiene and Nutrition, USL Tuscany Southeast, Tuscany, ItalyPost Graduate School of Public Health University of Siena, Siena, ItalyBackground: Approximately the 8% of travelers requires medical care, with the diagnosis of a vaccine-preventable disease. The aim of our study was to analyze the socio-demographic, health and travel characteristics of the Italian international travelers. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study from January 2015 to June 2016, at the Travel Medicine Clinic of Siena, asking the doctor to interview patients who attended the Clinic, recording socio-demographic and travel information, malaria prophylaxis, vaccinations. The data were organized in a database and processed by software Stata®. Results: We collected 419 questionnaires. Patients chose 71 countries for their travels; the favorite destinations were: India (6.31%), Thailand (6.31%), and Brazil (5.10%). The mean length of stay was 36.17 days. Italians, students, and freelancers tended to stay abroad for a longer time (mean: 36.4 days, 59.87 days and 64.16 days respectively). 33.17% of our sample used drugs for malaria chemoprophylaxis: 71.9% of them used Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone®), 26.6% used Mefloquine (Lariam®), 1.5% other drugs. The vaccinations that travelers mostly got in our study were to prevent hepatitis A (n = 264), the typhoid fever (n = 187), the Tetanus + Diphtheria + Pertussis (n = 165), the Yellow fever (n = 118) and the cholera (n = 78).</p><p id="abspara0025">Twenty-eight (6.68%) refused some recommended vaccinations. The vaccines mostly refused were for Typhoid fever (n = 20), hepatitis a (n = 9), and cholera (n = 9). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that Italian international travelers are at-risk because of their poor vaccinations adherence. This implies that pre-travel counseling is fundamental to increase the knowledge of the risks and the compliance of future travelers.https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/241Travel medicineItalycharacteristicsvaccination |
| spellingShingle | Gianmarco Troiano Astrid Mercone Alessandra Bagnoli Nicola Nante International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study Annals of Global Health Travel medicine Italy characteristics vaccination |
| title | International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study |
| title_full | International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study |
| title_fullStr | International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study |
| title_short | International Travelers’ Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study |
| title_sort | international travelers sociodemographic health and travel characteristics an italian study |
| topic | Travel medicine Italy characteristics vaccination |
| url | https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/241 |
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