Health, Mental Health, and Safety Abroad

• Travelers' Health (CDC)

The University recommends that travelers who will be abroad for an extended period have a routine check-up with their primary care physician before going abroad to discuss continuation of care plan, including prescription medications.

• Be sure to bring enough prescription medication for the duration of your time abroad in original bottles with the prescription (translated into the local language, if possible) in your carry-on luggage. If your U.S. health insurance only allows a few months of prescription to be filled at a time and this isn't enough for your time abroad, it is often helpful to call the insurance company and ask for an exception. For students, a copy of your acceptance or confirmation from your education abroad office will often assist with your request.
• Some prescription medications available in the U.S. are illegal in other countries, including common medications for the treatment of ADHD and anxiety/depression. Check the U.S. Department of State's Country Information pages for the country(s) you intend to visit or consult your international health insurance company. If your medication is legal, ask your health-care provider to write a letter on office stationery stating the medication has been prescribed for you and for what purpose. If it is not legal, you should work with your health-care provider to prescribe an alternative, legal medication several months prior to departure.
• If you have a medical condition that is not easily identified (diabetes, epilepsy, severe allergies), obtain and wear a medic alert bracelet while you are abroad and consider translation. Inform your education abroad office, emergency contact, traveling companions, and/or onsite staff or colleagues so they can be prepared in case of an emergency. Be sure to discuss a plan with your health-care provider before you leave home.
• See additional information on medications when traveling abroad from Mobility International USA.

All international travelers should visit a local travel clinic, in addition to meeting with their primary care physician and any relevant mental health professionals, prior to departure. A travel clinic specialist is trained to consider your health history, current medications, drug allergies, required immunizations, and travel plans when recommending shots and other medications.

Make an appointment at a travel clinic as soon as possible so that you can get a scheduled appointment in time to complete any recommended immunization series. Many travel clinics often book far in advance (especially around the holidays), and some immunizations need to be started months in advance of your departure. Thus, you should call to make your appointment at least three months before your travel date.

Find a travel clinic:

• Boynton Health Services International Travel Clinic is located on the Twin Cities campus and is open to UMN students and dependents who are 12 years and older. Student services fees cover consults at the clinic; however, prescriptions and immunizations are an additional cost.
• Travelers can also contact their private U.S. health insurance provider to identify a travel clinic and fully understand their insurance coverage.
• The Minnesota Department of Health also provides a list of international travel health clinics serving Minnesota residents.
• The International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) provides a listing of its member clinics by state.

All students, faculty, and staff traveling for University purposes are required to obtain international health, security, medical, and evacuation insurance approved by the University’s Office of Risk Management. For more information, visit the Insurance Requirements page.

Note for domestic travel: Faculty and staff covered by the University's Basic Life Insurance plan receive automatic enrollment in Redpoint, a travel-related emergency assistance program.

• You Can Plan for Your Mental Health Abroad UMN (1 min video)
• Tips for managing your mental health abroad (Instagram reel)
• Self-Care Planning tool: It’s valuable to think deeply about how you'll take care of yourself while studying abroad. Do this in-depth planning activity before departure. (Note: This requires UMN login.)
• The importance of your health and wellness abroad: a 10 min recorded workshop for students going abroad (Mary Krebs, Carlson Global Institute)
• Preparing for your experience: a 15 min recorded workshop for students going abroad (Jill Reister, Learning Abroad Center)
• How ADHD impacts personal and academic success (short online module)

As a program leader, it’s important to attend to student mental health as well as the program content and intercultural learning. Toward that goal, here are several resources that might be helpful to you:

• Attending to student wellness during study abroad: When you take students abroad, remember that if their basic physiological needs aren’t met, it’ll be difficult for them to attend to their more advanced educational and intercultural goals. Here are some practical ways you can attend to their basic needs.
• Quick self-care activities: It can be helpful to remind students, when they have a few minutes of free time, to engage in self-care. This can help them regulate their emotional state. This document lists some quick self-care activities.
• A Self-Care Planning tool for students: It’s valuable for students to think deeply about how they’ll take care of themselves emotionally while studying abroad. You might consider asking them to engage in this in-depth planning activity before departure. A new "web app" format allows students to access the information easily on their phones.
• Why you should be involved in supporting student mental health and wellness: a 3 min video from UMN leadership about why faculty and staff are needed to help support students in this way (which often becomes very apparent, during study abroad)
• What your role is and isn't in supporting student mental health: a 9 min video from UMN leaders to help you understand what is expected of you, and what you aren't expected to do
• Listening intentionally, to support student mental health and wellness: a 9 min video on how you can use your listening skills specifically towards the goal of supporting student mental health and wellness, as often a few moments of listening to a student who is upset can provide them with the support they need to focus on next steps
• Making effective referrals: a 5 min video on how you can encourage a student to utilize the resources available to them, towards their mental health and wellness
• How to support a student during a panic attack: a nice, short article from the NYTimes, for laypeople

Here are several resources to use, as you support students' mental health while at your site:

• My Self-Care Plan: It’s valuable for students to think deeply about how they’ll take care of themselves emotionally while studying abroad. You might consider asking them to engage in this in-depth planning activity before departure. A new "web app" format allows students to access the information easily on their phones.
• Why you should be involved in supporting student mental health and wellness: a 3 min video from UMN leaders about why faculty and staff are needed to help support students in this way (which often becomes very apparent, during study abroad)
• What your role is and isn't in supporting student mental health: a 9 min video from UMN leaders to explain how faculty and staff can help support student mental health, and things that are not expected, helping you understand boundaries we support you in setting
• Listening intentionally, to support student mental health and wellness: a 9 min video on how you can use your listening skills specifically towards the goal of supporting student mental health and wellness, as often a few moments of listening to a student who is upset can provide them with the support they need to focus on next steps
• How to express concerns for a student’s academics, conduct, &/or wellness to them: a document providing examples of how to tell a student you have concerns about them
• Making effective referrals: a 5 min video on how you can encourage a student to utilize the resources available to them, towards their mental health and wellness
• Responding to students' concerns for each other: It's not uncommon for one or several students to come share with you that they're concerned about the mental health or wellness of another student. Here are some ideas about how to respond to and manage that situation.
• How to support a student during a panic attack: a nice, short article from the NYTimes, for laypeople
• Responding to student suicidality: A document explaining how to respond to students experiencing suicidality.

• Travel Advisories (U.S. Department of State)
• Smart Traveler Enrollment Program - STEP (U.S. Department of State)
• Pre-departure health and safety Canvas course for students
• 911 Equivalent Telephone Numbers Around the World (U.S. Department of State)
• FBI Guidance on Safety and Security Abroad:
  • Students
  • Business Professionals
• Safety Abroad First - Educational Travel Information (SAFETI)

• The University has assembled International Resources for Sexual Assault and Harassment, including what to do and who to contact.
• See also LGBTQIA resources on the Identity-based Resources page.

Consult the Safety and Education Abroad page for information and resources, including relevant University units, best practices in the field, University policy, and relevant federal and state regulations.