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Updated: Jun 3, 97 |
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| Travel health information networks |
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| Name of Institution | City+Postal Code | Country | Region |
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| The Wellcome Trust (WELL) | London NW1 2BE | GB | London |
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As part of the broad aims of ETHIC this proposal is concerned with travel medicine, and targets European travellers. It will contribute to the protection of European citizens' health, in Europe and abroad especially in view of the increasing threat of importation of newly emerging diseases into Europe. Increasing travel between Europe and the rest of the world poses a number of challenges for health services, multinational businesses, the travel industry and the general public, necessitating an effective information network capable of providing up-to-date quality advice. The objective of this project is to create a database of quality information on travel health, appropriate to the needs of the traveller and the travel industry, which can be transmitted electronically. The project will ensure that the information: 1. is appropriately formatted and managed through a well defined infrastructure. 2. is brief and simple and automatically printed on materials routinely provided by travel agents to their clients. 3. includes major health risks for any chosen travel destination. 4. is multilingual, for reference across Europe and other continents. 5. Where necessary, contains an instruction for the client to visit his/her general practitioner or local travel clinic. By making information in this database available across Europe, and by establishing a European Advisory Board of specialists on travel health, differences in the advice given to travellers will be reduced. Major deliverables will consist of widely tested and proven products providing demonstrably valuable information to the European traveller via the travel industry. These will be: user needs in three European countries; a system to collect travel health information to meet user needs and re-distribute it for verification and review; published guidelines for connecting new collection and review network nodes; standardized quality information packages for use by the travel industry and multilingual information modules made available to the travel industry and to travellers; a database for the storage of travel health information in several languages which can be easily extended and distributed; and more accurate and geographically precise data on health risks to travellers.
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Users involved This proposal targets European Travelling Citizens as the principal users in conjunction with the travel industry. Other users include the partners in the Travel Health Information Network and multinational businesses Technologies and/or approach used A range of technologies will be involved including electronic messaging networks, e.g. X400, X500 and SMTP systems, client/server databases based on current industry standards, such as SQL and HTTP and multimedia and high bandwidth technologies such as ISDN and ATM. Expected benefits for the citizen Protection of European citizens' health, in Europe and abroad. It will reduce the variation in advice to travelling citizens and provide them with more detailed and focused information on health risks and how to minimise them. The cost burden to the individual should be reduced by less work days or school days lost and less need for curative care. Expected benefits for the users of the application The provision of readily available and standardized health messages in different languages based upon a validated database easily accessible to users especially the travel industry. Potential litigation averted, certain restrictions on air travel prevented, and increased cost efficiency of the travel industry. Expected benefits for the European Industries Enhanced trans-European cooperation and collaboration in this field. Boosting travel to certain regions or countries, economic benefit in terms of reduced work days lost, and safer industrial expansion. Strengthen Europe's competitiveness in telematics services. Contribution to EU-policies Facilitates the implementation of the appropriate European Union legislation. Demonstrates interconnectivity and interoperability within telecommunication systems in line with the Bangemann Report. In keeping with public health protection in Europe under Maastricht articles 129 and 130 and the exchange of information relative to health. |
| Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine | Liverpool | Merseyside | UK |
| Seccio de Medicina Tropical Barcelona | Barcelona | Cataluña | ES |
| Swiss Tropical Institute | Basel | Basel | CH |
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