Abstract
Audience:
The book targets pharmacists, especially those in community pharmacies, nurse practitioners, and general practitioners who may be asked to provide travel-related advice.
Purpose:
Travel Medicine for Health Professionals is designed to fill the gap in the travel medicine literature by having an evidence-based and product-oriented approach to answering the question: “What medicines and other health-related supplies do I need for my trip overseas?”
Content:
The book is divided into 11 chapters, which are organized in a logical sequence. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the role of the health professional in providing travel-related information and a general overview of sources of such information (eg, books, organizations, Internet sites). The next 9 chapters deal with specific travel health—related topics. Traveler's diarrhea, food and water hygiene, and malaria are the first topics discussed. These are usually the first health-related issues travelers will think of when planning an overseas trip. Other topics covered include tropical and other diseases related to travel, bite avoidance, vaccinations, environmental hazards, skin conditions associated with the sun and heat, and health problems associated with air and sea transport. The final chapter discusses the contents of first aid kits for travelers.
Each chapter starts off by discussing the condition and its etiology and pathophysiology. Then specific preventive measures and treatments are reviewed in considerable detail. For most topics, the emphasis is on prevention of the problem (as it should be in travel medicine), rather than on treatment of the established condition. Finally, each chapter ends with a “Main points” and “Frequently asked questions” section that helps to summarize the information. Each chapter is supplemented by the author's own experience and recommendations based on >20 years of providing travel-related advice. He also makes suggestions for areas where further research is needed.
Usability:
All of the chapters are extensively referenced, although, with the limited clinical trial data in this field, some references are quite dated.
Highlights:
The main strength of this book is the scope and depth of the material covered. The author provides very practical advice for all of the topics discussed, rather than being too theoretical.
Limitations:
The discussion and graphics on insect repellant pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (Chapter 6) provide probably more detail than most readers will want. Other points that readers should keep in mind relate to the fact that the author is from the UK. As such, most of the recommendations for prophylaxis and treatment are based on UK guidelines. However, the author acknowledges this limitation and states that readers from other countries should check the specific recommendations for their country. Also, some of the products and brands mentioned will not be available in the US.
Reviewer's Summary:
Overall, this is a well-written book that provides sound, practical advice for pharmacists who are involved (or want to become involved) in providing travel-related information. In my opinion, the author does a commendable job in accomplishing the stated goal of the book. As mentioned, this book would be most useful to practicing pharmacists, rather than as a textbook for students. It is also reasonably priced, so it will make for a “cost-effective” addition to either an individual's or institution's library.