Need for travel health clinic: A cross-sectional study among international travellers availing yellow fever vaccination in a teaching institution.

Abstract

Background: Traveller's health is one of the factors determining the success of his or her visit to the destination. The health aspects before, during and after travel are often neglected which may lead to untoward incidences during or after travel. Also, with the increase in national and international travel many emerging and re-emerging diseases are on the rise. This study was conducted to assess the awareness, knowledge and practices of the travellers and to find out the need for travel health clinics.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study among adults attending the Outpatient Department of International Travellers vaccination was conducted for 3 months. Data was collected regarding the awareness, knowledge and practices of 216 travellers by using a pre-validated interview schedule. Systematic random sampling was used to select these travellers. Analysis was performed after entering the data in Microsoft Excel and SPSS software wherein frequency percentages were calculated and the association was found between the awareness and felt need for a travel health clinic.

Result: The purpose of most of the travellers was job-related, the majority being males. As the study was conducted in a yellow fever vaccination centre majority knew only this as a travel-related preventable disease condition. The awareness regarding travel-related diseases was found to be less and which led to a felt need by the travellers for pre-travel counselling with a doctor.

Conclusion: Travel medicine is an emerging area for health care providers and there is a felt need for a travel health clinic with the increase in the domestic as well as international travel.