Evaluation of health information provided on the Internet by airlines with destinations in tropical and sub-tropical countries.

Abstract

The travel industry is being called upon increasingly to provide health information for its clients. Websites of all 73 international airlines with tropical or sub-tropical destinations accessible via the International Air Transport Association homepage were evaluated for the quality of their health advice. Seven of the 73 homepages contained health information, six of which addressed health problems that might be encountered when travelling to tropical countries. Fifty-five of the 73 airlines had functional email addresses and were asked for pre-travel health advice on malaria prophylaxis using a fictitious scenario. Among the 25 airlines that replied, only half referred to malaria and a third gave wrong information about malaria endemicity in the destination area. The only two airlines that recommended a specific drug regimen correctly reflected the medical situation described in our fictitious email. In general, international airlines are not set up to provide health information.