Knowledge of travel medicine providers: Analysis from a continuing education course

Background: With millions of international travelers, there has been an inc rease in the scope and variability of travel medicine providers. A study wa s conducted to measure the baseline knowledge of providers, determine facto rs affecting this knowledge, and assess acquisition of knowledge after a co ntinuing education course. Methods: A one-day continuing medical education course was held for health care professionals interested in travel medicine. Prior to the course, atte ndees completed a test determining knowledge in malaria chemoprophylaxis, t raveler's diarrhea management, vaccines, jet lag, the returned traveler, an d other areas. An identical test was given after completion of the course. Performance on the test was analyzed by profession, area of specialty train ing, and experience in travel medicine. Results: Seventy-seven attendees completed the precourse test. Forty-eight percent were physicians and 47% were nurses; 29% specialized in infectious diseases, 22% in occupational medicine and student health, and 18% in famil y or internal medicine; 60% had greater than or equal to 1 year of travel m edicine experience while 20% had no experience. The precourse test scare fo r all participants was 62.7% +/- 6.5 (sd). Analysis by profession found tha t physicians scored the highest (71%). Providers with greater than or equal to 1 year of travel medicine experience scored higher than those with no e xperience (67% vs 53%, p < .01). Statistically significant correlations wer e found between precourse exam results and profession (+.432, p < .001) and travel medicine experience (+.365, p = .002). No significant correlation w as found between precourse exam and area of specialty training. Combined me an score on the postcourse exam improved to 81.8% +/- 4.5, an increase of 1 7.2% over the precourse score for those who took both tests (p < .001). Conclusions: The profession of the provider and the duration of experience in travel medicine were the most important correlations of baseline knowled ge in travel medicine. All groups improved their knowledge following the co urse. Combining continuing education with clinical experience should be an effective way to train providers in travel medicine.