TY - JOUR
T1 - Seafarers’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: an examination of current supportive measures and their perceived effectiveness
AU - Tang, Lijun
AU - Abila, Sanley
AU - Kitada, Momoko
AU - Malecosio, Serafin
AU - Jr, S
AU - Montes, Karima Krista
PY - 2022/9/6
Y1 - 2022/9/6
N2 - As the current COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting crew change crisis exacerbates the
mental health problem faced by seafarers, various maritime stakeholders have mobilised
their resources and strengths to provide a variety of supportive measures to address the
issue. This paper aims to find out what measures have been adopted in the industry and
how widely they have been experienced/received by seafarers and evaluate their
effectiveness. To achieve this aim, this research employed a mixed methods design
involving qualitative interviews with 26 stakeholders and a quantitative questionnaire
survey of 817 seafarers. The research identified a total number of 22 mental health
support measures, all of which were perceived to have contributed positively to seafarers’
mental health. However, not all of them were widely available to or utilised by seafarers.
The findings also highlighted the importance of family, colleagues, shipping companies,
and government agencies, as they are associated with the most effective support
measures, namely communication with family, timely crew changes, being prioritised for
vaccination, being vaccinated, and a positive and collegial atmosphere on-board. Based
on the findings, recommendations are provided.
AB - As the current COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting crew change crisis exacerbates the
mental health problem faced by seafarers, various maritime stakeholders have mobilised
their resources and strengths to provide a variety of supportive measures to address the
issue. This paper aims to find out what measures have been adopted in the industry and
how widely they have been experienced/received by seafarers and evaluate their
effectiveness. To achieve this aim, this research employed a mixed methods design
involving qualitative interviews with 26 stakeholders and a quantitative questionnaire
survey of 817 seafarers. The research identified a total number of 22 mental health
support measures, all of which were perceived to have contributed positively to seafarers’
mental health. However, not all of them were widely available to or utilised by seafarers.
The findings also highlighted the importance of family, colleagues, shipping companies,
and government agencies, as they are associated with the most effective support
measures, namely communication with family, timely crew changes, being prioritised for
vaccination, being vaccinated, and a positive and collegial atmosphere on-board. Based
on the findings, recommendations are provided.
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105276
DO - 10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105276
M3 - Article
SN - 1872-9460
VL - 0
JO - Marine Policy
JF - Marine Policy
IS - 0
ER -