Evaluating Pre-travel Health Consultations for Business and Occupational Travelers: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Business and occupational travelers' health is at risk due to the specific itineraries and activities, prolonged stays, work-related stressors, short preparation time, more chances of disease importation, underutilization of vaccination, and chemoprophylaxis. The objective of the review is to assess the effectiveness of pre-travel health consultation and how it will help travelers prevent health risks. The question is to evaluate how can prolonged stays and underutilization of chemoprophylaxis and vaccination be better managed with pre-travel health consultation. The literature was searched on databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Semantic Scholar using Boolean operators with keywords and Medical Subheading (MeSH) terms such as "occupational travelers," "business travelers," "pre-travel health consultation," "effectiveness of consultation," "health risk assessment," "travel illness prevention," "risk management," and "risk assessment" to retrieve relevant published studies. The Cochrane Risk of Bias (ROB) 2.0 tool and Newcastle Ottawa scale (NOS) were utilized to measure the risk of bias. The Grading, Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was used to assign evidence strength. In total, a preliminary search yielded 334 articles. One high-quality study and seven studies of moderate quality were included. In conclusion, pre-travel health consultations are a vital tool to prevent travel-related health problems in business and occupational travelers. The current approach needs to be more specific and proactive to address health-specific risks experienced by travelers. However, early comprehensive consultations focusing on preventive measures, region-specific health risks, and timely immunizations are crucial to improving health outcomes. Moreover, enhanced guidance, awareness, and education of health professionals are also necessary to treat the complex medical needs of business and occupational travelers effectively.