Travel medicine research priorities: establishing an evidence base

Abstract

[Extract] he article "Travel Medicine Research Priorities: Establishing an Evidence Base" by Talbot et al.1 correctly alerts to the many gaps in the knowledge base of the discipline due to its diversity and breadth and an ongoing lack of funding for travel health projects. To represent potentially important research directions, the authors compiled tables of study designs of selected projects and proposed a list of research questions. Unfortunately, the authors only canvased one half of scientific inquiry, the traditional quantitative approach. This is particularly disappointing considering that travel medicine stands and falls with people (the travelers) and their attitudes and behavior, especially when it comes to adhering to or implementing pretravel advice. As the cochair of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) Research Committee, on whose behalf this article is said to have been written, I would like to comment on this oversight for completeness sake.