Library

The Library has more than 100 travel health topics available for research with multiple document types available for many, including academic-quality provider summaries, traveler teaching sheets, and Literature Watch Reviews

Library content is organized under the categories listed below. Many topics include links to a summary of related health bulletins recently added to Travax and feature related Literature Watch Reviews (abstract, commentary, and conclusion for published articles selected for their impact on the practice of travel medicine or addition to the knowledge base).

Library categories

  • Vaccines: Available resources generally include a summary of the illness itself plus vaccine information such as administration guidelines, contraindications, side effects, compatibility, manufacturer info, bibliography, accelerated schedules, adverse events, and related tables. Traveler handouts are included for each vaccine-preventable disease in this section.
  • Other Infectious Diseases: All significant travel-related diseases not found under "Vaccines" are listed here (e.g., dengue fever, travelers' diarrhea, and malaria). A similar depth of medical information is available, as well as a traveler handout on each disease.
  • Health & Safety: Provider and traveler articles are included for weightier topics such as altitude sickness, travelers' thrombosis, and seafood poisoning. The more basic topics only include a traveler handout (e.g., heat-related illness, insect precautions, and sun protection).
  • Special Needs: Informative articles, handouts, and other resources are available for topics relating to special needs (e.g., immunocompromised, pregnant, corporate, or diabetic travelers).
  • Operational Materials: Includes clinic operations and planning guides with information on establishing, operating, and marketing travel health services in a variety of practice settings, including a pharmacy-specific edition. There are also standard forms used in the counseling process, including an immunization exemption letter and the VAERS form. Also included is the Overview of Travel Health & Safety, a layperson's introduction to travel health issues (the online version of Shoreland's Travel Health Companion booklet).

Literature Watch Reviews

Literature Watch Reviews are abstracts of medical journal articles annotated by Shoreland's medical advisors

Our editorial team routinely monitors approximately 30 journals, watching for articles that meet the criteria of relevance (deals directly with travel medicine concerns and has application in clinical practice) and uniqueness (addresses a conclusive change in the standard of care based on solid evidence; presents new information on prevention guidelines, products, or health regulations; is a touchstone article on a topic; or contributes worthwhile information to the base of travel health information presented in Travax).

More than 400 reviews are available, with 1 to 2 new reviews added to Travax each month. Users can also opt to receive each new Literature Watch Review via email.

The reviews are accessible within Travax via the Literature Watch Reviews link that appears on the menu for topics in the Library. A link to "Recent Literature Watch Reviews" is provided on the What's New page as well.

Reviews use the following presentation format (see sample):

  • Conclusion. The reviewer's summary of what is most relevant and applicable from the original article for the practice of travel medicine.
  • Abstract. A recapitulation of original experimental data from the article.
  • Commentary. The reviewer's observations about the article's topic, study methods, timeliness, relevance, and ramifications.

Journals Monitored

American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
Annals of Internal Medicine
Archives of Internal Medicine
Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine
British Medical Journal
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Journal of Infectious Diseases
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Journal of the American Medical Association
Journal of Travel Medicine
The Lancet
The Lancet Infectious Diseases
Military Medicine
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
New England Journal of Medicine
Pediatrics
Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
PloS Medicine
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
Tropical Medicine and International Health
Vaccine
Weekly Epidemiological Record

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