Travel health attitudes among Turkish business travellers to African countries.
BACKGROUND
The number of international travellers is increasing worldwide. Although health risks related to international travel are important and generally well-understood, 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.


METHODS
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.
Department of Family Medicine, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
Engin Burak
EB
Selcuk
Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, 44280, Malatya, Turkey. Electronic address: unerkayabas@hotmail.com.
Uner
U
Kayabas
Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Inonu University Kale Vocational School, Malatya, Turkey.
Hulisi
H
Binbasioglu
Department of Medical Microbiology, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
Baris
B
Otlu
Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, 44280, Malatya, Turkey.
Yasar
Y
Bayindir
Department of Medical Microbiology, Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine, Aydın, Turkey.
Bulent
B
Bozdogan
Department of Medical History and Ethics, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
Mehmet
M
Karatas
D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000517:prevention & control; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015004:Yellow Fever / Q000517:prevention & control
D000962:Antimalarials
Chemoprophylaxis; Health behaviour; Preventive medicine; Travel medicine; Vaccination