Training, experience and interest of general practitioners in travel medicine in New Zealand

Background: In New Zealand, general practitioners (GPs) are a major group o f travel health advisers. This study was designed to investigate the preval ence of training, experience, and interest in travel medicine or related ar eas, interest in undertaking training in travel medicine and how training m ight be best delivered. Method: Four hundred GPs were randomly selected from the register of the Ne w Zealand Medical Council and sent self-administered questionnaires. Two re minders were sent. Results: Three hundred and thirty-two (83%) GPs responded and these GPs adv ised an average of two travelers per week. Most GPs (257/282, 91%) reported that they had no training in travel medicine/related area. Training in tra vel medicine/related areas was significantly associated with age group (chi (2)=14.09, df=6, p<.05), with the proportion of GPs with training in travel medicine/related area tending to be higher in the 45-49 and 50-54 years ag e groups, and also with GP college membership/fellowship (chi(2)=6.39, df=1 , p<.05). Forty-one percent (121/298) of respondents stated that they had p revious experience working in tropical medicine/developing country. There w as a significant association between GPs having experience working in tropi cal medicine/developing countries and training in travel medicine (chi(2)=1 4.19, df=1, p<.001) and those who were non-New Zealand graduates (chi(2)=7. 84, df=1, p<.01). Forty-four percent (131/300) of respondents stated that t hey had an interest in travel medicine. Nearly two thirds of respondents (2 00/309, 65%) indicated that they would be interested in undertaking various types of travel medicine training, with a short course most commonly ident ified (159/309). The interest for training in travel medicine was significa ntly associated with those GPs with an interest in travel medicine (chi(2)= 26.45, df=1, p<.001), in younger age groups (chi(2)=41.30, df=6, p<.001), a lower mean number of years since graduation (t value=5.70, df=297, p<.001) , a higher mean proportion of patients who were travelers (t value=-3.15, d f=303, p<.01), and a higher mean number of travelers seen per week (t value =-2.94, df=303, p<.01). The most common postgraduate qualification amongst GPs was membership/fellowship of a GP college (85/282, 30%), which was sign ificantly more prevalent amongst the older age groups (chi(2)=18.18, df=8, p<.05). Membership of travel medicine was very low. Conclusions: This cross-sectional study found that most GPs in New Zealand did not have any formal training in travel medicine, although more than two fifths of GPs indicated an interest in travel medicine and experience in t ropical medicine/related a rea. GPs mainly wanted continuing medical educat ion (CME) on travel medicine in the form of short and certificate level cou rses. As membership in GP colleges and other organizations was limited, oth er providers of CME should also be considered for providing more of these c ourses, such as universities and pharmaceutical companies. Providers of CME may target less experienced GPs and those GPs who may be seeing more trave lers and use various approaches. Undergraduate and postgraduate medical cur ricula may also need to include more training in travel medicine.