Many U.S. citizens working abroad feel their employers are not doing enough to ensure their health and safety, according to a recent survey by CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits, the National Foreign Trade Council, and WorldatWork, a global consulting firm.

Fifty-five percent of those polled say their employers do not keep them up to date about issues such as how to find a doctor or how to evacuate a region in chaos.

Communication between the home office and distant workstations is a problem. Only 20 percent of respondents are happy with their employers efforts at helping them cope with the complexity of global assignments. Fifty-six percent say coordination between overseas and HQ is poor.

Especially in the post-9/11 age, there is anxiety and apprehension about overseas assignments and the adequacy of safety and security precautions. International SOS, a private medical and security airlift company, handles about one evacuation per hour of expatriates and world travelers, according to Virginia Hollis, a CIGNA vice president.

OSHA offers international travelers safety advice in new technical information bulletin "Safety and Health During International Travel" [PDF] available on the agency's Web site.

Country guides and other helpful State Department publications are available at http://travel.state.gov.

Recommendations for immunizations published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are available at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/.