A Call for Contributions from Nurses for CISTM8, New York

If you have not yet considered organizing and submitting an abstract for presentation, here is a sampling of presentations by nurses at previous ISTM conferences. Please contact us if you need any assistance in preparing your presentation. A presentation can be the first step to publication.

A sampling of previous ISTM nurse presentations:

General Presentations

A nurse practitioner run travel clinic in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Poster presentation. CISTM 3. Paris.

Starting a travel clinic: the process simplified. A description of the tools, forms, educational tools used in travel medicine practice in Wisconsin. Poster presentation. CISTM 4. Mexico.

Travel health in the USA: A new specialty for the nurse practitioner. Poster presentation. CISTM 3. Paris.

Magister travel health distance learning course. A description of a structured distance learning course. Oral presentation. CISTM 6. Montreal.

Descriptive Studies. For example: surveys (larger samples, generally quantitative) or qualitative research (often used as a starting point in areas where little is known). This type of research describes situations to gain an insight. Higher-level studies often follow descriptive studies. Here a few examples of what nurses have presented at past meetings:

Data Management Systems: Are travel medicine clinics tracking and using their data? A survey of 600 travel clinics worldwide. Oral presentation. CISTM 5. Geneva.

Nursing professionals in travel health: A profile of the nurse and his/her educational needs. Based on results of a quantitative/qualitative needs assessment questionnaire, this study both describes profiles of travel health nurses and enumerates educational needs. Poster presentation. CISTM 4. Mexico.

The European Travel Medicine Inventory. A questionnaire survey of 17 European countries regarding travel medicine services. Oral presentation. CISTM 7. Innsbruck.

Travelers’ perspective on travel health advice in North Queensland/Australia. A questionnaire survey looking at travel/health education. Poster presentation. CISTM 7. Innsbruck.

Case Study. This type of study describes individual cases within your clinical setting. A case study can offer value in highlighting particular observations. The case report may lead to further research questions at a later time.

“Typhoid hepatitis” or typhoid fever and acute viral hepatitis. Two cases of patients co-infected with hepatitis A and typhoid fever. Poster presentation. CISTM 3. Paris.

Hepatitis E – What is the risk to travelers? A look at reported cases in the literature. Poster presentation. CISTM 5. Geneva.

Case-control and Cohort Studies. In cohort studies, a group of people exposed to something (e.g., travel health advice) and a group not exposed to that something are followed over time and the outcome of this exposure compared. In case-control studies, for example, people with a disease and people without this disease are compared as to if they were exposed to a certain factor responsible for this disease.

Intervention Studies. In this type of study, intervention and control groups are compared after the intervention (or experimental) group has received some treatment (drug, education and so on) that the control group has not received.

Travel Medicine Practice Symposium: Communication Counselling Tools and Techniques. This study looked at techniques of communication and outcomes on travelers’ knowledge. Oral Presentation. CISTM 7. Innsbruck.

Knowledge and Behaviour of Tourists to Manu National Park/Peru in Relation to Leishmaniasis. Oral Presentation. CISTM 7. Innsbruck.

By listing some of the past presentations, we hope to encourage you to submit research based on your experience as a travel health nurse. Listed below are the names and email addresses of some of the nurses who have presented in the past and are willing to help critique your work before submission. This year, the abstract submissions will be done electronically. The template and directions for submission will be presented in upcoming mailings and on the ISTM website.

As always, we look forward to our nurses’ networking get together. At CISTM8 in New York, the gathering will take place on the first afternoon, before the opening ceremonies. During this session, we will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss possible collaborative research topics. CISTM8 will also offer a workshop on organizing and planning research.

The contribution from nurses in the field of travel medicine is invaluable. We hope that you will share your unique experience, either through presentation or participation in nurses’ networking. We look forward to welcoming you to NY!

Nancy Piper Jenks

Past nurse presenters who are willing to critique your work:
Nancy Piper Jenks: njenks@hrhcare.org
Irmgard Bauer: Irmgard.Bauer@jcu.edu.au
Fiona Genasi: Fiona.Genasi@scieh.csa.scot.nh