Exploring isolation, self-directed care and extensive follow-up: factors heightening the health and safety risks of bariatric surgery abroad among Canadian medical tourists

Figures & data

Table I. Relationship between bariatric tourism challenges and associated health and safety risks.

	Challenge	Challenge in Context	Associated Health and Safety Risks
1	Stigma and Isolation	Experiences of stigma and isolation from family, friends, and medical professionals in the Canadian health care system	i. Risk of (dis)continuity of care ii. Risk of lack of informed consent
2	Lack of familiarity with Mexico	Participants’ pre-conceived understandings of the safety of Mexico and standard surgical procedures	i. Risk of lack of informed consent (language barriers)
3	Self-navigation of care	Surgical options and care obtainment identified by participant in both home and destination countries	i. Risk of medical complications ii. Risk of (dis)continuity of care
4	Information seeking primarily online	Data on procedures, clinics and health care professionals abroad obtained through online mediums	i. Risk of lack of informed consent ii. Risk of poor outcomes
5	Reliance on anecdotal information	Former patients’ testimonials on surgical outcomes and experiences of care abroad heavily relied upon by patients	i. Risk of lack of informed consent ii. Risk of poor outcomes
6	Inadequate follow-up care	The multi-disciplinary care required for strongest health outcomes in bariatric surgery is largely missing due to the international dynamic or lack of support from home physician	i. Risk of (dis)continuity of care ii. Risk of medical complications

Figure 1. Risk relationships experienced by Canadian bariatric tourists in regard to domestic risks and those heightened by medical tourism.

^aBoth of the domestic and/or destination health care systems.^bOverlap of risks that are present both when the patient seeks care domestically and through medical tourism.^cOverlap of risks unique to the context of medical tourism.^dOverlap of risks primarily experienced when the patient receives care domestically.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.