Beyond Backpacks: A Guide to Healthy Travel is a free online program designed to help college students prepare for safe and healthy travel.
The course is being piloted through the 2025–26 academic year. To learn more or express interest in participating, please complete the interest form here.
This program is part of the ACHF Campus Travel Health Programs project with Valneva. See also: Guide for Travel Health Practices
About the Course
Designed to be completed in 1–2-hours, Beyond Backpacks features engaging short videos, interactive activities, and assessment questions covering relevant travel health topics, including:
- Intro to Beyond Backpacks
- Mental Health
- Packing Health Essentials
- Travel Vaccinations/Travel Immunizations
- Travel Health Insurance
- Communication/Emergency Planning
- Identity Care
- Food and Water Precautions
- Responsible/Ethical Travel
- Bite Avoidance Measures
- Returning Travelers
- General Health and Safety Tips
Beyond Backpacks can be easily integrated into your campus learning management system (e.g., Canvas, Brightspace) or accessed externally. Both options allow you to monitor students’ completion and comprehension of the content.
The content has been focus group tested and is tailored for younger travelers.
You can preview a sample of the video content here.
The Beyond Backpacks course is ideal for campuses without dedicated travel health services, though institutions with existing resources may also find it a useful supplement.
Questions?
Contact ACHA’s Director of Strategic Partnerships Robyn Buchsbaum at rbuchsbaum@acha.org.
Contributor Info
American College Health Foundation (ACHF) with support from Valneva through an educational grant
Topic
ACHF, Travel Health
Resource Type
Patient Education Materials
Publish Date
August 15, 2025
