Travel-related health and safety considerations for children

J Pye1

  • 1Complete Healthcare International Pte Ltd, Singapore. jp@uk2.net

Nursing Standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)
|July 12, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric travel medicine is crucial as more children travel internationally. Healthcare providers must be prepared to address travel-related health and safety concerns for pediatric populations.

Area of Science:

  • Travel Medicine
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Increasing numbers of children are traveling internationally.
  • Destinations are becoming more remote, posing unique health challenges.
  • Pediatric travel medicine is an essential component of healthcare for traveling children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the significance of travel-related health and safety for children.
  • To emphasize the need for appropriate guidance for parents and guardians.
  • To inform healthcare practitioners about pediatric travel medicine concerns.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review on pediatric travel health.
  • Analysis of travel-related risks for children.
  • Synthesis of best practices for advising families.

Main Results:

  • Children face specific health risks during international travel.
  • Travel clinics and general practitioners require updated knowledge.
  • Proactive health advice is essential for preventing travel-related illnesses in children.

Conclusions:

  • Healthcare providers must be knowledgeable in pediatric travel medicine.
  • Comprehensive advice on travel health and safety is vital for children.
  • Addressing travel concerns proactively improves pediatric health outcomes abroad.

Related Concept Videos

Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets01:17

Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets

Transmission-based precautions are for patients known to be infected or suspected to be infected or colonized with organisms that pose a significant risk to others. Some transmission-based precautions include contact, enteric, and droplet.
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Standard Precaution01:26

Standard Precaution

Standard precautions are the minimum infection control safeguards used while caring for all patients, irrespective of their disease condition. They help prevent the spread of common infectious microorganisms to healthcare workers, patients, and visitors in all healthcare settings.
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption01:23

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption

Understanding the physiological differences in the pediatric population is crucial for effective pharmacotherapy. Neonates, infants, and children exhibit significant variations in gastric pH, gastric emptying time, intestinal transit time, and biliary function. These variations profoundly affect oral drug absorption, necessitating a nuanced approach to pediatric dosing.Neonates present with a unique physiological profile, having a gastric pH greater than 4 and faster and more irregular gastric...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment01:25

Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment

Transmission-based precautions are for patients infected or suspected to be infected (or colonized) with organisms posing a significant risk to others. The transmission precautions include airborne and protective environment precautions.
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
Drug Dosing: Infants and Children01:29

Drug Dosing: Infants and Children

Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...