international travelers’ behaviors and knowledge of travel health, travel-related diseases, and vaccinations: a cross-sectional study

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.