"Personal Safety Advice for Travelers Abroad" Recognized
For the information of readers, I am pleased to advise that a paper published last year in the Journal of Travel Medicine, was granted a prestigious award from the Australian Military Medicine Association (AMMA). The paper, "Personal safety advice for travelers abroad",1 won the AMMA Patron's Prize for the best article published in a peer-reviewed journal by an AMMA member in 2001. The award is endorsed by the Patron of AMMA, the Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force, currently Air Vice Marshall Bruce Short.
Published in a "Common Questions" format, the paper emphasized that, "although many travelers were concerned about their personal safety when traveling aboard, it was an often neglected area of travel medicine".2 "Personal safety is one of the most important areas for travel health advisers to cover when giving advice to travelers going virtually to any country, particularly as fewer people are going on programmed package tours".2 It mentioned that "travelers should also be advised about important safety nets, such as health and travel insurance and finding medical assistance abroad".2 The paper "covered several topics including how to avoid trouble spots, vehicle safety and managing security issues abroad, and also touched on the issue of terrorism".2
I wish to gratefully acknowledge my co-author, Dr Mathew Klein, Principal Medical Adviser, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, Australia, as well as the editorial and publishing teams for the Journal of Travel Medicine.
Peter Leggatt MD
Dr. Leggatt is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University, and Directorate of Medical Services, Defense Health Service, Army Reserves, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
References
Leggat PA, Klein M. Personal safety advice for travelers abroad. J Travel Med. 2001;8:46-51.
Anonymous. Article wins prestigious award. Townsville Bulletin. Friday December 21, 2001:5.
