International Travelers’ Behaviors and Knowledge of Travel Health, Travel-Related Diseases, and Vaccinations: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kalanlar, Bilge; Şenel, Makbule; Gürsel, Ebru Temel; Gönül, Nüvit; Bilgiç, Bünyamin; Aydoğan, Fulya Kahraman; Kan, Osman

doi:10.15171/ijtmgh.2018.30

International Travelers’ Behaviors and Knowledge of Travel Health, Travel-Related Diseases, and Vaccinations: A Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Bilge Kalanlar ¹

Makbule Şenel ²

Ebru Temel Gürsel ³

Nüvit Gönül ³

Bünyamin Bilgiç ⁴

Fulya Kahraman Aydoğan ⁴

Osman Kan ⁴

¹ Department of Public Health Nursing, Nursing Faculty, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

² Faculty of Nursing, Istanbul University – Cerrahpasa Florence Nightingale, Istanbul, Turkey

³ Travel Health Center, Ankara, Turkey

⁴ Directorate General of Health for Border and Coastal Areas, Istanbul, Turkey

10.15171/ijtmgh.2018.30

Abstract

Introduction: Travel health centers offer very important health services for individuals traveling abroad. Little is known about the health status and knowledge of travel health, travel-related diseases, and vaccinations of individuals who travel abroad and visit travel health centers. This research studied travelers who visited a travel health center in order to evaluate their behavior and knowledge of travel health, travel-related diseases, and vaccinations.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 407 participants between June and September 2018, the busiest time for international travel. It was administered at a travel health center attached to the Directorate General of Health for Border and Coastal Areas of Turkey.
Results: The results indicated that 78.6% of participants did not obtain travel health insurance before their trip, and 63.6% did not prepare a travel health kit for their trip. Moreover, 61.4% reported that they did not know about the health conditions and practices of their destination country. Individuals traveling for business did more research on travel-related diseases compared to those traveling for other reasons. Additionally, 61.3% of individuals who rated themselves healthy sought information about the health conditions at their travel destinations.
Conclusion: The current study showed that the knowledge and healthcare practices among international travelers are inadequate. Raising awareness is needed to create a positive behavioral change in people’s travel health practices.

Keywords

Travel

Travel-Related Illness

Health Services

Vaccination

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