A small-scale study to explore the experiences of people who travel abroad for bariatric surgery

Environmental Health Dissertation Prize Winner

Abstract

Obesity is a growing public health problem which leads to a significant number of health issues including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancer. Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention to help people lose weight by removing parts of the stomach or inserting a band, both which restrict the amount of food that can be consumed. However, the waitlist in the UK for surgery is long, and requirements (i.e. BMI of 40+ or between 35-40 with a health condition) can be difficult to meet. This has increased the number of people choosing to travel abroad for bariatric surgery, leading to a rise in medical tourism-related emergencies for the NHS. There is limited literature identifying what motivates people to choose to travel abroad for bariatric surgery. This study used semi-structured interviews to collect data from six participants who have travelled to other countries for bariatric surgery. From the data, three main themes emerged: 1) Motivations for traveling abroad for bariatric surgery, 2) Experiences of bariatric surgery abroad and 3) Contrasting outcomes of bariatric surgery abroad. It was found that peoples' experiences can differ significantly. Many of the participants felt that bariatric surgery abroad was the only option for them. The expectations of surgery should be realistic, and the NICE guidelines used in UK provisions play a key role in sustainable weight loss and understanding the lifestyle changes required post-surgery. Due to the ease of accessibility to bariatric surgery in other countries, policies need to be implemented on an international level which promote safety for those that travel the surgery. Within the UK, there should also be clear information and guidelines provided to anyone who visits their GP seeking weight loss advice to give individuals an insight into potential risks of having surgery.