College student mortality on U.S. campuses compared with rates while abroad

Abstract

Objective

Education abroad can be perceived as riskier for student health/safety than domestic study, but little data exists to test this assumption. We investigated one facet of student safety by comparing college student mortality rates occurring during educational programs abroad with rates occurring on U.S. campuses. Methods: Two insurers provided information about the duration of education abroad experiences for 1,342,405 individuals insured over seven calendar years and details of repatriation of remains claims during that period. Mortality rates for students abroad were calculated and compared with existing data from students on U.S. campuses. Results: Students are less likely to die during study abroad experiences than on U.S. campuses. This is driven by reduced likelihood of death among male students studying abroad. Conclusions: Results can guide staff and student training and policies by providing professionals involved in study abroad with objective information about the relative risk of overseas study and causes of death.

Keywords:

• Study abroad
• education abroad
• mortality
• international education

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the insurance companies GeoBlue and CISI and their representatives for the preparation and provision of access to insurance claims data, without which this study could not have been completed. We also acknowledge the support of The Forum on Education Abroad for facilitating the collaboration with the insurance companies and for financial support for attendance to professional meetings and conferences where earlier iterations of this study were presented and discussed. Gratitude is also due to staff and volunteers at The Forum on Education Abroad and attendees to preceding conference presentations who provided useful feedback throughout the course of the project. Finally, we express our gratitude to the editor and two anonymous peer reviewers for their time and insights.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States. This research did not require Institutional Review Board approval.