Are travelers willing to pay for prophylaxis? Will professionals supply?

This study was undertaken to assess the willingness of travelers attending a travel clinic to pay for vaccination and the willingness of health care professionals to prescribe medications for self-treatment of traveler's diarrhea. Two questionnaires were issued. The first was sent to individuals who had attended the Dundee Teaching Hospitals' travel clinic in Scotland between April 1993 and July 1995; the second was sent to medical practitioners and pharmacists in hospital and community practices in Tayside, Scotland. Of the 111 respondents to the travelers' questionnaire, 95 answered the questions regarding willingness to pay. The majority (48.4%) disagreed that vaccinations should be free, 54.7% were of the opinion that the current prescription charge should be the recognized cost, and 18.9% thought that a private prescription charge should be levied. Of the 420 health care professionals who responded to the second questionnaire, 31.9% supported the availability of ciprofloxacin, a quinolone antibiotic, over the counter far the treatment of traveler's diarrhea. This study demonstrates that there is little support for private prescriptions for travel immunization. There is a surprising level of support for over-the-counter availability of ciprofloxacin for the treatment of traveler's diarrhea.