Development and validation of an instrument to assess the risk of developing viral infections in Australian travelers during international travel

Abstract

Background. Questionnaires are widely used for data collection in travel medicine studies, but there are no validated instruments that are available to researchers in this field. Our objective was to develop and validate a questionnaire to be used in a prospective study designed to estimate the risk of three viral infections in Australian travelers to Asia. Methods. Qualitative nonexperimental cognitive methods, including cognitive review, task analysis, and cognitive interviews, were selected. A pilot study was performed to assess the instrument in the target population. Results. Recalling dates related to travel or health events was observed and reported to be the most difficult task for t..