Abstract:
Background: The number of international travellers is increasing worldwide.
Although health risks related to international travel are important and generally wellunderstood,
the perception of these risks was unclear among Turkish travellers. We aimed to evaluate
the attitudes and health risk awareness of Turkish travellers travelling to African countries.
Method: A survey was performed of Turkish travellers bound for Africa from Istanbul International
Ataturk Airport in July 2013.
Results: A total of 124 travellers were enrolled in the study. Among them, 62.9% had information
about their destination but only 11.3% had looked for information on health problems related to
travel and their destination. Of all travellers, 53.2% had at least one vaccination before travelling.
The most commonly administered vaccine was for typhoid. Among the travellers, 69.3% and 80.6%
had “no idea” about yellow fever vaccination and malaria prophylaxis, respectively. A positive
correlation was found between a higher level of travellers’ education and receiving the recommended
vaccination for the destination.
Conclusions: Our study revealed significant gaps in the vaccination and chemoprophylaxis uptake
of Turkish travellers departing to Africa. An awareness and training program should be developed
for travellers, as well as public health workers, to address health risks related to travel.
