Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Pharmaceutical Services Program, Ministry of Health Malaysia, 46200, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: norazlin6133@gmail.com
  • 2 Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia; Non-Destructive Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research Centre, Smart Manufacturing Research Institute, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, 42300, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: mohdsh2790@uitm.edu.my
  • 3 Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kampus Besut, 22200, Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia. Electronic address: azyyatisuhaimi@unisza.edu.my
  • 4 Department of Clinical and Hospital Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, 30001, Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia; School of Pharmacy, Management and Science University, 40100, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: noordinothman11@gmail.com
Res Social Adm Pharm, 2023 Nov;19(11):1412-1423.
PMID: 37612154 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.08.004

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The involvement of community pharmacists (CPs) in the provision of pretravel health services is increasing due to the increase in international travelers, the increased risk of travel-related diseases, and the expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice in some countries. In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of pretravel health care provided by CPs, a greater understanding of the practices, barriers, and facilitators is required.

OBJECTIVE: This scoping review aimed to identify and describe existing studies on pretravel health services provided by CPs, and the barriers, and facilitators.

METHODS: The PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for pertinent studies from their inception to February 2023. A manual search was also conducted of prominent travel medicine journals, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of the included studies. Potential barriers and facilitators were mapped to the 14 domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

RESULTS: There were twelve studies included in the review. Pretravel health advice was the most prevalent form of pretravel health services. Within ten domains of the TDF, various factors that either facilitate or impede the provision of pretravel health services by CPs were identified.

CONCLUSION: The provision of pretravel health services by CPs may be affected by a number of practitioner and organizational factors. The provision of pretravel health services can be facilitated by informational resources, training and education in travel medicine, and collaboration amongst healthcare providers.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.