Travel health nursing has evolved as a distinct and increasingly complex specialty, drawing upon the knowledge of nursing, pharmacology, epidemiology, tropical medicine, primary care, and behavioral psychology. In 2020, ANA officially recognized travel health nursing as a nursing specialty for the first time. The Travel Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice is an important professional resource for nurses who strive to advance the well-being of all domestic and international travelers, and the communities to which they travel and return.
Travel health nurses are specially educated and trained to promote the health and safety of travelers through comprehensive risk analysis, assessment, immunizations, health education, and therapeutic interventions. Nurses in this specialty provide services in three different clinical encounters: pre-travel, during travel ("in-transit"), and post travel in a variety of settings that include college health, occupational health, public health, the military, primary care, and nurse-managed travel health clinics, among others.
