Gerard Flaherty

[ 1 ] - Traumatic Travels – A Review of Accidental Death and Injury in International Travellers

Insufficient attention has been paid to physical trauma as a cause of morbidity and mortality in international travellers, despite travellers themselves ranking it among their most important pre-travel health concerns. Road traffic collisions (RTCs) are the most common cause of death in younger travellers. One of the significant factors contributing to motorist accidents is tourists’ disorienta...

[ 2 ] - An Eye on Travel: An Overview of Travel-Related Ocular Complications

Travellers are at risk of a diverse range of environmental and infectious conditions, some of which may affect the eyes and lead to blindness in severe cases. Travel-related ocular infections include onchocerciasis, leishmaniasis, cysticercosis, trachoma, dengue, loiasis, and leptospirosis. The travel medicine adviser should also recognise other hazards encountered during travel which may adver...

[ 3 ] - Responding to Migrant and Refugee Healthcare Needs in Ireland

Human migration, both voluntary and precipitated by conflict and persecution, continues to pose challenges to the healthcare infrastructure of host countries. The scale of international migration to Ireland has increased substantially in recent years. Both economic migrants and refugees have complex health needs including those related to infectious diseases, malnourishment, gender-specific iss...

[ 4 ] - Citation Analysis of the Most Influential Publications in Travel Medicine

Introduction: Citation analysis reflects the extent to which published work has been recognized in the scientific community. The purpose of this study was to characterize the most cited publications in travel medicine.Methods: Travel medicine articles indexed on Scopus which had been published in the English language through 2016 were retrieved independen...

[ 5 ] - Travel Agency Awareness of the Health Risks of International Travel; A Pilot Study

Introduction: Travel agencies may be consulted by intending travelers seeking pre-travel health advice. Travel agents should be equipped to deal with such queries and have access to a source of high quality travel health advice. This study aimed to establish the level of knowledge of travel health risks among Irish travel agencies. Methods: A web-based su...

[ 6 ] - Awareness of Rabies Risk in a Sample of Travelers Attending an Irish Travel Medicine Clinic

Introduction: Many countries endemic for the rabies virus are popular tourist destinations for travelers from developed countries. This study was designed to assess the level of awareness of rabies in a sample of travelers attending a travel medicine clinic and to assess whether the rabies-specific information provided verbally should be reinforced into a written form before th...

[ 7 ] - An Analysis of the Preventive Behavior and Attitudes of International Travelers from South East Asia; the Kuala Lumpur Airport Survey

Introduction: There has been significant growth in international tourism from South-East Asia. Travel medicine services are still quite limited in this region. Few data exists on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of travelers from South-East Asia regarding the prevention of travel-related health risks. The present study aimed to characterize the travel t...

[ 8 ] - Deaths of Irish Civilians Abroad: Analysis of National Mortality Data, 2016-2018

Introduction: International travel is increasing, yet few studies have reported on country-level death rates among international travelers. The data regarding the death profiles of overseas Irish travelers is insufficient. The current study examined data obtained from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to profile these deaths. Methods: Data...

[ 9 ] - Leaving Light Footprints – the Importance of Promoting Responsible International Travel

Irresponsible travel has the potential to harm both the traveler and the host destination. The subject of responsible travel is a major focus of the International Society of Travel Medicine, whose Responsible Travel special interest group has been very active in providing leadership for travel medicine practitioners in relation to the protection of local travel destination communities. Healthca...

[ 10 ] - Cross-Sectional Analysis of Attitudes Towards Bariatric Surgery Tourism of Patients Attending a Weight Management Program: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: The upward trend of seeking bariatric surgery tourism will only grow with the globalization of medical care. We aim to describe the experiences participants of a supervised weight loss program in relation to their pursuit of bariatric tourism. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with an unbiased questionnaire were conducted to obtain a profo...

[ 11 ] - Lagging Behind – The Emerging Influence of Jet Lag Symptoms on Road Safety

Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in international travelers. With the growth of international travel, the number of visitors who rent a vehicle upon arrival at their destination by air or by sea is expected to increase. Jet lag is a well-recognized maladaptation to international travel across multiple time zones. Little is known about the possible influence of jet lag sympt...

[ 12 ] - Objective Structured Knowledge Exchange: A Novel Instructional Approach in Travel Medicine Education

[ 13 ] - Autism Spectrum Disorder and International Travel

The literature on international travellers with psychiatric disorders is limited. This perspective article highlights various travel-related aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including its aetiological association with maternal migration, the difficulties faced by long-term travelers with autistic children, and the facilitation of international travel for autistic individuals by the tr...

[ 14 ] - Pre-travel Health Advice for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among international travellers. Practitioner knowledge of the effects of CVD on international travel is imperative in order to promote a healthy travel experience. This review aimed to explore the available literature on this topic. The PubMed database was accessed to source relevant literature using combinations of relevant keywords as...

[ 15 ] - Better Late Than Never - An Analysis of Last-Minute Travelers Attending a Specialist Travel Medicine Clinic in Ireland

Introduction: Last-minute travelers (LMTs) are a vulnerable group, because it may not be possible to adequately vaccinate them against exposure to infectious diseases. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to describe the characteristics of LMTs attending a travel health clinic. Methods: The following data was extracted from records ...

[ 16 ] - Serendipitous Detection of Asymptomatic Lesions in International Travellers

The recent case of a 41-year-old British tourist, whose breast cancer was first suggested by a visit to a popular tourist attraction in Scotland, prompted us to consider how travel may serendipitously yield unforeseen diagnoses. The woman and her family were entertained in the thermal imaging camera room of the Camera Obscura and World of Illusions exhibit in Edinburgh when she noticed that her...

[ 17 ] - Unravelling the Pathogenesis of Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: Are There Possible Insights From High Altitude?

[ 18 ] - View From Above: Bibliometric and Citation Analysis of Global High Altitude Medicine Research

Introduction: High altitude destinations are popular among international travelers. Travel medicine practitioners should be familiar with altitude physiology and high altitude illness recognition, prophylaxis, and management. We performed the first bibliometric analysis of high altitude medicine research. Methods: All articles published in a specialist hi...