Health Tips Before You Go Abroad

The USAC Health and Safety Team is committed to helping you achieve a successful and healthy experience abroad. If you have a pre-existing condition or take medication, you’ll need to plan ahead, as resources and access will be different abroad.

We’ll help you through your pre-departure planning and connect you to top health care providers abroad.

• Assess your overall health to determine your physical, mental, and emotional needs prior to choosing a program.
• Prepare a health plan for your time abroad. How will you maintain your physical, mental, and emotional health while on your program? What routines, support systems, or coping mechanisms will help you reach this goal?
• Find health information about your study abroad location at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
• Before departure, get the appropriate vaccinations and preventive prescriptions for your destination as recommended by the CDC and/or a physician. Some countries require or recommend vaccinations or other special medications prior to your arrival. These may need to be spread out in a series over several months, so look into this as early as possible. You can locate certified travel health practitioner at The International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM).

Accessibility

We strive to help make studying abroad as accessible as possible. However, please understand that we are limited by the availability of accommodations outside the U.S. If you rely on disability accommodations at your home university, please complete the Disability Accommodation Request form once enrolled on a USAC program.

Students with significant needs, such as a mobility or sensory disability, should contact health@usac.edu prior to applying to discuss the availability of reasonable accommodations.