Pilot study on the development of digitally supported health promotion for seafarers on sea
, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Abstract
Background: Seafarers are exposed to a variety of job-specific physical and psychosocial stressors. Health
promotion on board is of great importance for the salutogenesis of this occupational group. Due to
the difficult accessibility of seafarers, electronically supported health management can be highly valuable.
However, surveys on the needs and interests of seafarers in health promotion regarding e-health applications
have not yet been carried out.
Material and methods: This pilot study uses a cross-sectional design to assess the need for digital health
promotion for seafarers on board. This need was derived from the individual responses of 73 crew members
on 3 merchant ships on health as well as addictive behavior, sports, coping strategies, and the level
of knowledge regarding health-related issues. Conspicuous parameters on mental health and fatigue were
compared to the general population.
Results: It was found that 31.9% of seafarers were smokers and 80.6% were alcohol consumers. 82.4%
of the seafarers practiced sport. The most common coping strategies for stress were calming down (44.6%),
listening to music (32.1%), resting and sleeping (25.0%) and sports (25.0%). The evaluation of the PHQ-9
mental health questionnaires indicated that 85.4% of respondents had moderate to severe symptoms
of a depressive mood. The average WHO-5 Well-Being Index resulted in level of 69.7% of the maximum
possible score. Knowledge questions on health-related issues were answered correctly in less than 60%
of cases. With regard to fatigue, there was an increased score for the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)
in 33.8% and the Pupillary Unrest Index (PUI) was elevated in 47.7%.
Conclusions: Nicotine and alcohol consumption is higher among the participating seafarers compared
to a reference population living on land. Various coping strategies for managing stress are already used
in the daily live. However, there is a demand and interest in acquiring more knowledge about health-promoting
behavior. The risk of daytime sleepiness and depression is elevated among seafarers. This leads
to key issues that should be taken into account for preventive medicine, health promotion and possible
digitally supported health management on board.
Keywords: seafarersdigitally supported health managementworkplace health promotione-healthpreventive medicine
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