International Maritime Health最新文献

Background: There is a limited number of studies on the medical repatriation of seafarers. The aim of the study was to follow up on the previous 2010-2014 study using data from 2015-2019 to evaluate the epidemiology of medical repatriation among Filipino seafarers.

Materials and methods: Data from medical repatriation records of Filipino seafarers from January 2015 to December 2019 were collected from various claims departments of different manning agencies in Manila, Philippines.

Results: Data from a total of 6,526 medical repatriation cases and 464,418 deployments in a 5-year period resulted in a medical repatriation rate calculated at 1.4%. We used the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) to determine the most common causes of repatriation. We found that these were musculoskeletal disorders, gastrointestinal problems, and traumatic injuries. The distribution of the specific illnesses per organ system is presented.

Conclusions: Filipinos continue to represent the most numerous group of seafarers in the world. The continued profiling of health issues should lead to better health protocols and controlling medical costs. It should also lead to better prioritisation of health protection and care on board ships. Within the present 10-year database of medical repatriations coinciding with the implementation of Maritime Convention Labour Convention 2006, there is a compelling need to compare the two data sets to have an objective evaluation of the convention's projected goals.

Background: Seafarers, confronted with unique health challenges, occasionally necessitate medical repatriation. This study examines the trends in medical repatriation cases among Filipino seafarers employed by OSM Maritime shipping company over a 10-year period from 2013 to 2022.

Materials and methods: Medical records of OSM Maritime seafarers were reviewed, obtaining causes for and dates of medical repatriation. International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) was utilised to classify repatriation cases. Proportion of repatriation cases were calculated and their annual trends were analysed.

Results: Our findings reveal that the majority of repatriation cases are attributed to injury/trauma (19.91%), musculoskeletal (18.40%), gastrointestinal (16.56%), cardiovascular (8.77%), infectious (6.82%), and genitourinary conditions (5.30%). Significantly, the study identifies a declining trend in the proportion of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary conditions in annual repatriation cases, particularly in ischaemic heart conditions, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, and urinary calculus.

Conclusions: These results emphasize the critical need for multisectoral collaboration to enhance seafarers' health and well-being. Prioritizing comprehensive care programmes, ensuring safe working conditions, and exploring holistic healthcare initiatives are essential steps to enhance seafarers' occupational health.

Background: Seafarers, whether on cargo, fishery, or naval ships, may be exposed to unique and unusual psychological demands related to the often isolated, confined, and extreme environments associated with ocean-going vessels. This necessitates optimal psychological adaptation to maintain individual well-being during the mission and afterwards. This study set out to explore whether psychometric measures could predict psychological adaptation of seafarers, specifically navy sailors, during and after maritime operations. It used emotional regulation as marker of adaptation, and examined the role of psychometric measures of dispositional resilience and emotional regulation to predict psychological adaptation at subsequent time-points.

Materials and methods: A total of 168 sailors completed the Brief Sailor Resiliency Scale, Dispositional Resilience Scale 15, and Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 prior to departing for sea, as well as the Brunel Mood Scale at 5 time points over a 12-month operational cycle.

Results: Higher resilience scores were consistently associated with more adaptive emotional regulation. Multiple linear regressions indicated that the Brief Sailor Resiliency Scale predicted emotional regulation over the shorter term, while the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 18 predicted emotional regulation over the longer term. Further, mid-mission emotional regulation also predicted emotional regulation at the end of deployments.

Conclusions: The findings support several practical applications. Firstly, formal organizational initiatives to promote resilience could be useful to enhance adaptation during and after missions. Secondly, measuring seafarers' dispositional resilience could allow the streaming of vulnerable individuals towards appropriate mental health support services. Thirdly, past indicators of adaptation could be useful to enhance decision- making regarding subsequent utilisation. This may be applicable to seafarers in both naval services and commercial shipping, and to personnel in remote weather stations or other isolated and inaccessible research facilities.

Background: This study investigates how Faroese deep-sea fishers' exposure to work-related stressors affects their sleep, sleepiness, and levels of fatigue. Being constantly exposed to the unpredictable and harsh North Atlantic Ocean, having long work hours and split sleep for up to 40 days consecutively, they will arguably suffer from fatigue.

Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty seven fishers participated in this study, and data was gathered throughout 202 days at sea. Subjective data was collected at the start and end of trips via questionnaires, sleep and sleepiness diaries and supplemented by objective sleep data through actigraphs. Ship movements were logged with a gyroscope connected to a laptop. A noise metre measured each work station and resting area, and noise exposure profiles were calculated based on each participant's activity and location. Linear mixed-effect models investigated the effects of work exposure variables on sleep efficiency, and cumulative link mixed models measured effects on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale and physical fatigue scale.

Results: Time of day followed by ship movement were the exposure variables with the highest impact on the outcome variables of sleep efficiency, sleepiness and physical fatigue. The number of days at sea revealed correlations to outcome variables either by itself or interacting with the sleep periods per day. Crew size, shift system or noise did not impact outcome variables when in the model with other variables. Larger catches improved sleep efficiency but did not affect sleepiness and physical fatigue ratings.

Conclusions: The findings indicate a chronically fatigued fisher population, and recommends urgent attention being paid to improving the structure of vessels and installing stabilators for greater stability at sea; work schedules being evaluated for protection of health; and work environments being designed that fulfill human physiological requirements in order to ensure the wellbeing and safety of those at sea.

Background: Psychosocial risk factors play an important role in the lives of seafarers on board. Not only physical but also mental health influences the performance of seafarers. This study aims to investigate the psychosocial aspects of life on board among southern Italian seafarers.

Materials and methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted between January and April 2021 with a sample of 20 seafarers using the snowball method. Griffith and Gonzales' (2000) guidelines for conducting face-to-face interviews were used. Interview topics were analysed using paper and pencil.

Results: The majority (90%) of seafarers were married or living in a romantic relationship. The seafarers worked more than 10 hours per day without a day of rest during their time on board. The main stressor for participants was the lack of family (16/20), followed by conflicts between work and rest (12/20), pressure from crew members (9/20) and feeling lonely (8/20). Seafarers were generally involved in traumatic events such as fatal accidents (5/20), injuries at work (4/20) and pirate attacks (4/20). The most important personal resources are the opportunity to travel (12/20), followed by passion for this type of work (9/20). The most common suggestion for a better quality of life on board concerns improving the quality of training (6/20).

Conclusions: The results of this study are alarming for the working and living conditions of seafarers. Shipping companies should implement social policies to prevent an increase in psychosocial risks on board. Future studies could include the administration of a questionnaire to examine psychosocial stressors, seafarers' protective factors, and well-being and discomfort outcomes at work.

Background: The global aggravation of the political situation in the world against the background of catastrophic changes in the Earth's ecology is inexorably growing. Despite the fact that most ships are equipped with Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP), pollution of the World Ocean remains a serious problem. One of the main reasons contributing to the pollution of the sea by ships is the lack of the ship's environmental protection equipment necessary for the work. Thus, the adoption of measures to prevent the discharge of raw sewage from ships and improve the quality of their treatment is of paramount importance.

Materials and methods: The data of comprehensive surveys of ship WWTP operation in the ports of Ukraine for 2009-2010 are analysed - the most intensive period of navigation in the last 20 years. To assess the quality of wastewater treatment, samples were taken for laboratory studies in accordance with the requirements of the "State Sanitary Rules and Norms for Discharge of Waste, Oily, Ballast Water and Garbage from Ships into Water Bodies", No. 199, 09/07/1997.

Results: The results of laboratory studies of wastewater after treatment on shipboard WWTP, conducted in the Black Sea ports of Ukraine in 2009-2010, show the unsatisfactory quality of their treatment according to the main regulated national and international indicators.

Conclusions: Taking into account the results of surveys of foreign ships conducted in 2009-2010, the studied literature, we consider our study worthy of serious reflection in order to understand the current situation on ships equipped with WWTP installations, determine priority areas for ensuring their efficient operation and preventing pollution of water bodies by untreated waste carrying the threat of contamination of residents of coastal areas with pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases transmitted by water, toxic substances that are detrimental to the flora and fauna of the oceans.

Background: Military universities and academies affiliated with the law enforcement provide education for students who are physically and psychologically suitable for this field, unlike other university educations. This education can affect general health because it requires discipline and special effort both practically and theoretically. In this context, the aim of our study is to examine the general health status of military students in terms of some variables.

Materials and methods: One hundred twenty-two male students studying at the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy participated in the study. The general health status of the participants was determined by the SF-12 Brief Health Questionnaire, and their sleep quality was determined by the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In the analysis of the data, Spearmans' rho correlation, binomial logistic regression and scatter diagram analysis were used for independent groups. All analyses were performed in the Jamovi 2.3.21.0 analysis programme according to 95% confidence interval and 0.05 significance level.

Results: Increased physical and mental health scores of the participants, not smoking, and having a good diet were found to increase the likelihood of improving sleep quality. It was concluded that initial active duty for training, alcohol use, and being in a school team did not predict the likelihood of improving sleep quality.

Conclusions: As a result, it may be recommended that military students should have good general health, pay attention to nutrition and avoid smoking to improve low sleep quality.