Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract Background There are increasing concerns about mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among seafarers. This study aims to assess the effects of the current global health pandemic on life satisfaction and adverse psychological outcomes among seafarers. Methods In this cross-sect...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12673-4 |
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| author | Fereshteh Baygi Christine Blome Andrew Smith Nami Mohammadian Khonsari Arash Agoushi Arman Maghoul Mohammad Esmaeili-Abdar Armita Mahdavi Gorabi Mostafa Qorbani |
| author_facet | Fereshteh Baygi Christine Blome Andrew Smith Nami Mohammadian Khonsari Arash Agoushi Arman Maghoul Mohammad Esmaeili-Abdar Armita Mahdavi Gorabi Mostafa Qorbani |
| author_sort | Fereshteh Baygi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background There are increasing concerns about mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among seafarers. This study aims to assess the effects of the current global health pandemic on life satisfaction and adverse psychological outcomes among seafarers. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 470 multinational seafarers working on board ships of two international shipping companies were assessed. Mental health outcomes were assessed by the general anxiety disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD-8) questionnaire, and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) depressive severity score. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association of demographic and work-related variables with mental health outcomes. Results Overall, 439 out of 470 invited seafarers with a mean age of 34.5 (SD: 8.05) years participated in this study (participation rate: 93.4%). The prevalence of anxiety, depressive, and post-traumatic stress symptoms was 12.4, 14.1, and 37.3%, respectively. In the multivariate model, the current vessel’s signing duration was directly associated with the odds of depressive and intrusion symptoms. Moreover, the duration of work per week was inversely associated with hyper-vigilance and avoidance. Also, non-officers, compared to officers, experienced significantly lower anxiety and depressive symptoms, hyper-vigilance, and avoidance. Conclusion The present study revealed a high prevalence of mental health problems among seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We recommend that more evidence is generated regarding psychosocial health issues for this vulnerable occupation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:23:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c84d8a0661844262be6633c25036fb53 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:23:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c84d8a0661844262be6633c25036fb532022-12-22T01:41:45ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582022-02-012211810.1186/s12889-022-12673-4Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemicFereshteh Baygi0Christine Blome1Andrew Smith2Nami Mohammadian Khonsari3Arash Agoushi4Arman Maghoul5Mohammad Esmaeili-Abdar6Armita Mahdavi Gorabi7Mostafa Qorbani8Research Unit of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Southern DenmarkInstitute for Health Services Research in Dermatology and Nursing (IVDP), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)Centre for Occupational and Health Psychology, School of Psychology, Cardiff UniversityNon-communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical SciencesNon-communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical SciencesNon-communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical SciencesStudent Research Committee, Alborz University of Medical SciencesNon-communicable Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical SciencesNon-communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical SciencesAbstract Background There are increasing concerns about mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among seafarers. This study aims to assess the effects of the current global health pandemic on life satisfaction and adverse psychological outcomes among seafarers. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 470 multinational seafarers working on board ships of two international shipping companies were assessed. Mental health outcomes were assessed by the general anxiety disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD-8) questionnaire, and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) depressive severity score. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association of demographic and work-related variables with mental health outcomes. Results Overall, 439 out of 470 invited seafarers with a mean age of 34.5 (SD: 8.05) years participated in this study (participation rate: 93.4%). The prevalence of anxiety, depressive, and post-traumatic stress symptoms was 12.4, 14.1, and 37.3%, respectively. In the multivariate model, the current vessel’s signing duration was directly associated with the odds of depressive and intrusion symptoms. Moreover, the duration of work per week was inversely associated with hyper-vigilance and avoidance. Also, non-officers, compared to officers, experienced significantly lower anxiety and depressive symptoms, hyper-vigilance, and avoidance. Conclusion The present study revealed a high prevalence of mental health problems among seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We recommend that more evidence is generated regarding psychosocial health issues for this vulnerable occupation.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12673-4SeafarersPsychological impactCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Fereshteh Baygi Christine Blome Andrew Smith Nami Mohammadian Khonsari Arash Agoushi Arman Maghoul Mohammad Esmaeili-Abdar Armita Mahdavi Gorabi Mostafa Qorbani Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic BMC Public Health Seafarers Psychological impact COVID-19 |
| title | Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean-going vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | post traumatic stress disorder and mental health assessment of seafarers working on ocean going vessels during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Seafarers Psychological impact COVID-19 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12673-4 |
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