title: Travel health: perceptions and practices of travel consultants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The global increase in international travel puts travelers at risk of travel-related morbidity and mortality. Prior to travel, most travelers have contact with a travel agency, thereby providing an opportunity for intervention. With this in mind we aimed to determine some of the travel-related health knowledge, practices and needs of travel consultants.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross sectional study was undertaken in which one travel consultant from each of 166 Western Australian travel agencies was asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and forty-five travel agencies (87%) agreed to participate in the study. Fifty-six percent indicated that they "usually" gave broad travel-related health guidelines and recommended their clients consult a medical practitioner. Almost all travel consultants reported discussing travel health insurance; very few provided information on sexually transmissible diseases, the risks associated with drug use, or first aid kits. Over 80% responded correctly to statements eliciting their knowledge on yellow fever, malaria, and food safety; the majority incorrectly answered questions on dengue fever and altitude sickness. Fifty-six percent of respondents thought that there was "not enough" readily accessible travel health information; 52% said they would like to be more involved in providing health information to their clients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contact between travelers and travel agents offers an opportunity to promote awareness of travel-related health hazards. While travel consultants' health knowledge on some topics is adequate, in other areas it is inconsistent. Many travel consultants in Western Australia expressed a willingness to be involved in future health promotion activities. This participation may be best nurtured by providing travel consultants with: (1) better health education so they are able to identify high-risk travelers and destinations for medical referral; and, (2) health information in a format they feel comfortable distributing to their clients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Western Australia.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ivatts
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Plant
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Condon
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel; D014904:Western Australia