Abstract
BackgroundHealth problems among travelers in developing countries are not uncommon. Little is known about the occurrence of health problems and their impacts among backpackers in Thailand. The objective of this study was to assess the health problems and the health seeking behavior among adult backpackers who visited Thailand.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. Data were collected from foreign adult backpackers in Khao San Road, Bangkok. They were asked about their demographic data, health problems (if any), and health-care seeking behavior if they became ill.ResultsDuring May to July 2015, 420 backpackers were enrolled in this study. Of these, 51.4 % were male with a median age of 26.4 years. Up to 66.9 % were of European origin, while 17.4 % were North American. Fifty-eight percent sought pre-travel consultation before traveling. In this study, 10.2 % (43/420) of the participants reported at least health problem during travel. Most of them (79.1 %) had single episode of illness. Of this, diarrhea was the most common health problem (30.4 %), followed by abdominal pain (14.3 %), skin problems (8.9 %), respiratory problems (8.9 %), accident-associated injury (7.1 %), and febrile illness (7.1 %). One third of backpackers with health problems spontaneously recovered without any treatment, while nearly a quarter treated themselves with standby medication, and one in five had to buy over the counter medication. Just over 9 % of backpackers with a health problem sought medical care at a hospital. Among travellers with health problems, 72.1 % reported that their health problems did not significantly impact to their trip, while 23.3 % had to delay or postpone their trip for at least 1 day, and 4.7 % had to cancel some trip and/or activity. Longer duration of stay was significantly related to higher occurrence of health problems while traveling.ConclusionsApproximately 10 % of adult backpackers experienced some health problems during their trip in Thailand. Although most of their health problems were mild, up to 22 % of backpackers with health problems need to seek medical care either in a clinic or in a hospital.
Highlights
Health problems among travelers in developing countries are not uncommon
It is clear that the true incidence of health problems is likely much higher since these numbers were based on the surveillance report from health care facilities throughout Thailand and likely under captures health care events
Data were collected in the Khao San Road area during May to July 2015
Summary
Health problems among travelers in developing countries are not uncommon. Little is known about the occurrence of health problems and their impacts among backpackers in Thailand. In the same year (2014), there were 41,061 foreigners who were reported ill according to the reports from the Bureau of Epidemiology, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand [2]. Based on these numbers, the prevalence of notifiable health problems was 2.1 per 1000 travelers. It is clear that the true incidence of health problems is likely much higher since these numbers were based on the surveillance report from health care facilities throughout Thailand and likely under captures health care events. This surveillance system is not designed to capture mild or self-limiting health problems
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