Barriers to international travel in inflammatory bowel disease patients

Abstract

Background Inflammatory bowel disease poses substantial challenges to travel. We aimed to investigate inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)-associated challenges to travel, information-seeking behaviour and associated factors. Methods We collected data on patients’ demographics, disease characteristics, travel barriers, information-seeking behaviour and travel outcomes in UK, Australia, New Zealand and Israel (2016–2018). Summary statistics were used to describe the sample, whereas multivariate binary and nominal logistic regression were used to model the outcome variables. Results Almost 75.4% (1878/2491) participants’ data were analysed with 71.14%, 15.4%, 11.2% and 2.1% from UK, Australia, NZ and Israel, respectively (76.3% females, 48.2% 30–49 years old 58.8% Crohn’s disease). About 7.7% of study participants sought medical advice/were hospitalised while overseas. About 43.8% cancelled/changed their plans due to IBD. The most common barriers were worry about toilet facilities (76.3%), cleanliness/sanitation (50.9%) and availability of medical care (41.1%). Only 60.5% sought travel advice; the most popular information source was IBD doctor/nurse (32.6%). Almost 32.6% of study participants did not get travel insurance that covered their IBD. Those who did not receive advice or found obtaining travel insurance difficult, were less likely to obtain travel insurance (P < 0.001). Participants who travelled for work were more likely to be hospitalised/seek medical advice overseas and not obtain travel insurance. Conclusions We report a detailed investigation on the IBD-associated barriers while travelling abroad, common information-seeking behaviours and factors associated with worse outcomes. Importantly, patients from all the surveyed countries provided similar travel barrier and preparation habits, highlighting the consistent nature of the challenge.

Perspectives on Subcutaneous Infliximab for Rheumatic Diseases and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Era

“…Patients have cited ease of use, convenience, and time taken for administration as important factors in treatment selection [ 53 – 55 ]. In addition, SC medications may offer more flexibility for patients wishing to travel—the availability of medications abroad, particularly IV infusions, can pose a major obstacle and requires advance planning [ 56 – 58 ]. The availability of SC infliximab now enables a change in administration route from IV to SC with the same agent, depending on the requirement for drug exposure, safety of the administration environment, and convenience.…”

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Self-Management

“…However, it is possible that these resources do not adequately address the concerns of adolescents and young adults with IBD. Little is known about adolescent and young adults' perspectives on traveling with IBD; adults with IBD have reported numerous barriers to traveling and most do not seek pretravel advice (Aluzaite et al, 2020; Greveson et al, 2016). Furthermore, adults with IBD have reported that the most frequent (Aluzaite et al, 2020) and useful (Philip, Soubieres, & Poullis, 2018) source for travel information are IBD providers rather than online resources.…”

“…Little is known about adolescent and young adults' perspectives on traveling with IBD; adults with IBD have reported numerous barriers to traveling and most do not seek pretravel advice (Aluzaite et al, 2020; Greveson et al, 2016). Furthermore, adults with IBD have reported that the most frequent (Aluzaite et al, 2020) and useful (Philip, Soubieres, & Poullis, 2018) source for travel information are IBD providers rather than online resources. Despite being patients' preferred source of travel information, providers are not always confident providing travel advice to patients with IBD, with providers reporting the most uncertainty on country-specific travel advice and advice about accessing health services during a flare (Greveson et al, 2016).…”

The Most Common Cause of Fever in International Travelers Visiting Kasih Ibu Hospital Denpasar for the 2019-2020 Period

“…The data was processed descriptively using cross-tabulation and distribution frequency tables. The data was analyzed with Statistic Package for the Social Science (SPSS) Version 26 (13). This study has been approved by the Health Research Ethics Committee, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Warmadewa (letter number 280/Unwar/FKIK/EC-KEPK/VIII/2022).…”