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Related Experiment Videos

Morbidity on youth expeditions to developing countries.

Jon Dallimore1, Fiona J Cooke, Karen Forbes

  • 1Accident and Emergency Department, Bristol Royal Infirmary, UK.

Wilderness & Environmental Medicine
|April 4, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Supervised youth expeditions to developing countries are safe, with common issues like headaches and diarrhea. Serious injuries were rare, but pre-trip education on altitude-related symptoms is recommended.

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Area of Science:

  • Travel medicine
  • Global health
  • Expeditionary medicine

Background:

  • Youth expeditions to developing countries are popular but carry health risks.
  • Limited data exists on the specific health profiles of young travelers on organized expeditions.
  • Understanding illness and injury patterns is crucial for traveler safety and program development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To document the frequency and types of illness and injury in young people undertaking supervised expeditions.
  • To compare health event data from youth expeditions with existing literature on other traveler demographics.
  • To identify specific health concerns relevant to young travelers in developing regions.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of medical cards from 945 individuals (aged 15-20) on 65 World Challenge Expeditions Ltd. expeditions in 1996.

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  • Data collection involved adult leaders recording all health episodes during July and August.
  • Analysis focused on documented illnesses, injuries, medical consultations, and hospital admissions.

    • Main Results:

    • No deaths or emergency repatriations occurred across 65 expeditions.
    • 75% of 644 analyzed participants experienced 1646 health problems; common issues included diarrhea (33%), nausea/vomiting (20%), headache (18%), and respiratory symptoms (14%).
    • Only 1% of episodes required local medical advice, and 2 individuals were hospitalized; trauma was less common than in other traveler groups.

    Conclusions:

    • Supervised youth expeditions to developing countries are generally safe for participants.
    • Gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms were comparable to other age groups, but headaches were more frequent.
    • Pre-expedition briefings should emphasize headache assessment, especially at high altitudes (above 2500m), for young travelers.