RESEARCH
Media on Board
(Rob C. Verbist, MD)
When the International Committee on Seafarers' Welfare (ICSW) decided to run a programme on Seafarers' Health Information, discussions took place on the best vehicle to bring health messages to seafarers.
Ship visitors and medical staff questioned seafarers of 112 ships in 4 different ports, on the presence and use on board of video, DVD and PC. Both personal use and habits of the crew in general were examined. Videos are predominantly used to watch movies by both officers and crew at least once per week. All use video for training and infotainment. More videos are found in the cabins of officers than other crewmembers. Personal Computers are used for work, they are not found in mess rooms. Officers have more PCs in the cabin than other crew. Half the ships have already a DVD machine on board. The number of personal machines is still low but equal among officers and other crew. The DVD has the same function as the video and may gradually replace it.
Also the possibility to use email was investigated. On 67% of the shops sending and receiving personal emails was possible and on 50% privacy is secure.
More and more electronic newsletters are replacing surface mail, newspapers and magazines for safety training, booklets and leaflets.
Ship visitors get in direct personal contact with seafarers; they are trusted by the seafarers and can bring information to the seafarers directly.
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Hospitalisation of seafarers in Antwerp
(Rob C. Verbist, MD)
Background: One of the tasks IMHA can have in the Maritime Industry is to deliver evidence to support policies regarding medical fitness and health on board. A possible source of information for IMHA are the Port Clinics and Port Physicians. They have direct contact with seafarers and are among the first to encounter new trends and perceive changes in health on board
Method: Hospitalisation of a seafarer in a foreign port is a major event in the life of that seaman, it is professionally disruptive and often also interferes with the operability of the ship, the ship owner and insurance companies are also directly involved. 480 electronic medical records on hospitalisations of seafarers in Antwerp were analysed on age, nationality and function: whether the reason for hospitalisation was an accident or disease, if surgery was needed, the department of the hospital, the duration of the stay, the duty status after leaving the hospital, return to the ship or repatriation, duration of unfitness, follow-up treatment, assistance during repatriation or not, and diagnosis.
Results: About 40% of the hospitalisations relate to an accident. The average stay in hospital is 11 days. Very few seafarers return to their ship, most are repatriated. Assistance during repatriation is not often required. Follow-up after repatriation is often necessary and unfitness after leaving the hospital is long (several weeks). Surgery was necessary in about 30% of the hospitalisations. Orthopaedic and urologic departments are the most frequently needed. Especially the high number of hospitalisations for urethra stones is striking. The data show that analysis of hospitalisations of seafarers can give important information about the pathology or seafarers, the organisation of maritime medicine and the challenger in developing preventive policies.
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Hospitalisations among seafarers on merchant ships
(H.L. Hansen, F. Tüchsen, H. Hannerz)
Aims: To study morbidity among active seafarers in the merchant navy in order to clarify possible work related morbidity and the morbidity related to work and lifestyle where possible preventive measures may be initiated.
Methods: From a register in the Danish Maritime Authority a cohort of Danish merchant seafarers who had been actively employed at sea in 1995 was identified. For each seafarer, information on all employment periods at sea, charge abroad and ship was available. The cohort was linked with the National In-patient Register in Denmark. Standardised hospitalisation ratios (SHRs) were calculated for all major diagnostic groups using all gainfully employed as reference.
Results: Seafarers were shown to be inhomogeneous, with significant differences in SHRs for the same disease groups between different groups of seafarers depending on charge and ship type. SHRs for lifestyle related diseases were high, although rates for acute conditions, such as acute myocardial infarction, were low, probably due to referral bias, as acute conditions are likely to cause hospitalisation abroad, and thus are not included in the study. SHRs for injury and poisoning were high, especially for ratings and officers aboard small ship.
Conclusion Despite pre-employment selection, a large proportion of the seafarers constitute a group of workers with evidence of poor health probably caused by lifestyle. The subgroups with high risk of hospitalisation due to lifestyle related diseases also had an increased risk of hospitalisation due to injury and poisoning.
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