Background: The global increase in international travel puts travelers at r
isk of travel-related morbidity and mortality. Prior to travel, most travel
ers have contact with a travel agency, thereby providing an opportunity for
intervention. With this in mind we aimed to determine some of the travel-r
elated hearth knowledge, practices and needs of travel consultants.
Methods: A cross sectional study was undertaken in which one travel consult
ant from each of 166 Western Australian travel agencies was asked to comple
te a self-administered questionnaire.
Results: One hundred and forty-five travel agencies (87%) agreed to partici
pate in the study. Fifty-six percent indicated that they "usually" gave bro
ad travel-related health guidelines and recommended their clients consult a
medical practitioner. Almost all travel consultants reported discussing tr
avel health insurance; very few provided information on sexually transmissi
ble diseases, the risks associated with drug use, or first aid kits. Over 8
0% responded correctly to statements eliciting their knowledge on yellow fe
ver, malaria, and food safety; the majority incorrectly answered questions
on dengue fever and altitude sickness. Fifty-six percent: of respondents th
ought that there was "not enough" readily accessible travel health informat
ion; 52% said they would like to be more involved in providing health infor
mation to their clients.
Conclusions: Contact between travelers and travel agents offers an opportun
ity to promote awareness of travel-related health hazards. While travel con
sultants' health knowledge on some topics is adequate, in other areas it is
inconsistent. Many travel consultants in Western Australia expressed a wil
lingness to be involved in future health promotion activities. This partici
pation may be best nurtured by providing travel consultants with: (1) bette
r health education so they are able to identify high-risk travelers and des
tinations for medical referral; and, (2) health information in a format the
y feel comfortable distributing to their clients.