Central Department of Public Health, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark.
PLoS One. 2023 Apr 10;18(4):e0284155. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284155. eCollection 2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its guidelines have had a profound impact on the social life, health, and wellbeing of people around the world. Very little is known if the guidelines are put into action effectively by seafarers. Also, the effects of such guidelines on seafarers' health and wellbeing have not been studied so far. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the perceived effects of the COVID-19 guidelines on seafarers' health and wellbeing.
MATERIALS & METHODS: A qualitative research method was adopted using in-depth interviews. A total of 13 international male seafarers were interviewed until data saturation was achieved. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the respondents. The data was inductively coded using NVivo 12 and manifest content analysis was conducted.
Once seafarers had access to COVID-19 guidelines, seafarers followed the guideline as suggested by companies under the guidance of captain. The majority of the participants reported that available guidelines could decrease their stress and anxiety levels, while some reported that implementing the COVID-19 guidelines had no significant effect on their health and wellbeing. The results of this study also showed a delay in repatriation, which had an impact on the seafarers' mental health.
The guidelines could not address seafarers' psychological needs to ensure their good health and wellbeing. Therefore, it is recommended that shipping companies address the mental health needs of seafarers during the COVID-19 pandemic and similar infectious diseases emerging in the future.
COVID-19 大流行及其指导方针对世界范围内人们的社会生活、健康和福祉产生了深远的影响。目前还不太清楚海员是否有效地执行了这些指导方针。此外，这些指导方针对海员健康和福祉的影响也尚未得到研究。因此，本研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 指导方针对海员健康和福祉的感知影响。
采用定性研究方法，采用深度访谈。总共采访了 13 名国际男性海员，直到达到数据饱和。采用目的抽样招募受访者。使用 NVivo 12 对数据进行归纳编码，并进行显式内容分析。
一旦海员获得 COVID-19 指南，海员就在船长的指导下按照公司的建议遵循指南。大多数参与者报告说，现有的指南可以降低他们的压力和焦虑水平，而一些参与者则报告说，实施 COVID-19 指南对他们的健康和福祉没有显著影响。本研究的结果还表明遣返延迟，这对海员的心理健康产生了影响。
指南无法满足海员确保身体健康和福祉的心理需求。因此，建议航运公司在 COVID-19 大流行期间以及未来类似传染病爆发期间解决海员的心理健康需求。
