Willingness to take travel-related health risks--a study among Finnish tourists in Asia during the avian influenza outbreak

Abstract

Background: Health risk perception and behavior of tourists during epidemics is a challenge for behavioral medicine.

Purpose: The purpose was to analyze associations of psychosocial factors and willingness to take health risks on holiday and business trips.

Method: Subjects (survey n = 338) were Finnish tourists visiting South-East Asia during the avian influenza epidemic of 2004. On holidays, 13.8%, and on business trips, 6.3% would take (rather) high risks, 14.1% reported having tendency to take health risks. Willingness to take health risks on both kinds of trips was lower among those +40 years old than those <40. Comparatively high risk-taking tendency and high perceived HIV risk were related to the increased willingness to take health risks on both kinds of trips.

Results: On holidays, willingness to take health risks was related to trust in fate, and on business trips, this was also related to trust in God and less precautionary behavior of avoiding hand shaking, but also to higher estimation of other risks in life.

Conclusion: Younger travelers and those on holidays are willing to take more health risks than those who are older or on business trips. Travel advice during epidemics could be differentially targeted to different age groups and to holiday and business travelers.