Ready for takeoff? exploring United States health care providers’ pretravel consultation priorities, gaps, barriers, and opportunities

Abstract

Pretravel consultation by healthcare providers (HCPs) with travel medicine expertise can mitigate travel-related health risks. This analysis aimed to understand US-based HCPs' pretravel consultation educational gaps, priorities, barriers, and opportunities. An electronic survey was conducted May–June 2024, using a convenience sample of HCPs identified through the Med Learning Group and travel specialists from the International Society of Travel Medicine and American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. In total, 205 HCPs completed the survey, including physicians (50 %), nurse practitioners (19 %), nurses (12 %), pharmacists (11 %), physician associates (7 %). Most (66 %) provided pretravel consultations and only 21 % held formal travel medicine certification. HCPs not providing pretravel consultation were less comfortable with traveler's diarrhea self-treatment, malaria chemoprophylaxis, altitude illness prevention, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, and typhoid vaccination management. The most desired topics for education were travel vaccinations (94, 46 %), travel medicine insurance (89, 43 %), and altitude illness prevention (86, 42 %). Major barriers to providing pretravel consultation were lack of clarity about reimbursement (110, 54 %), lack of insurance coverage (89, 43 %), and inability to stock travel vaccines (73, 36 %). Top interventions suggested to increase access to and awareness of pretravel consultation included primary care physician education and community outreach. Most HCPs were interested in pretravel educational opportunities, but comfort varied by experience and certification, highlighting need for targeted training, especially for primary care providers. Top barriers were insurance coverage for pretravel consultation and access to travel vaccines, underscoring critical gaps in the US healthcare system.