Personality and temperamental features vs. quality of life of Polish seafarers

In Poland seafarers are a significantly large occupational group and their work is highly burdening andhazardous. The environmental, physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial factors have a great impacton their quality of work and life. This report examines their quality of life and the relationship betweenquality of life, personality and temperament was evaluated. A total of 300 Polish seafarers took part inthis study. Their average age is 44. Incorporated methods used were: WHOQOL-BREF, a survey for peopleworking at sea, questionnaires: NEO-FFI and PTS. The results have shown that their quality of life is quitehigh. Polish seafarers show neuroticism below average and high extraversion. They are open, agreeableand scrupulous. Their power of stimulation and inhibition processes is correct

Dynamics of stress as a predictor of health consequences in Polish drilling platform workers. Longitudinal study: part I

Background and aim: The subject of presented article is the evaluation of the relationship between the way of adaptation to work-related stress and chosen health indicators among drilling platform workers in Poland. The study procedure is a longitudinal research, including data analysis from 1993 to 2013.Materials and methods: 167 Polish platform male workers with an average age of 42 years have been examined. The studies include, according to the triangulation method, data from 3 sources: data concerningthe so-called ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ stress, personality and temperamental examinations and data concerning health state.Results: Stress affects health negatively, the higher subjective and objective stress, the worse health indicators: higher body mass index, more declared health ailments and worse evaluation of personal health (r = –0.23). Stress also affects health via 2 indirect tracts: through the kind of stress adaptation (stress dynamics) (r = –0.43) and through coping — depositional stress coping style (r = 0.41).Conclusions: Stress adaptation (stress dynamics) and coping style included in the study in longer perspective show that those drilling platform workers, who declare the decrease of stress over the years, present worse health indicators than those, who declare variability in the ways of adaptation to stress

Quality of life at sea in Polish seafarer’s evaluation

Background: Work at sea is highly burdening, hazardous and stressful. Environmental, physical, and psychosociological factors have a great impact on the seafarer’s quality of life and work. The research is a part of a broader psychological project performed on people working at sea in Poland during a period of 2011–2014. Materials and methods: This report presents the self-evaluation of life quality conducted by a total of 1,700 Polish seafarers who took part in the study. The average age of the group was 45. Following methods were used: WHOQOL-BREF and the “Survey for people working at sea”. Results: Polish seafarers gave the highest rates to their social relationships (16.27), then the psychological functioning (15.62), and environment (15.51). The physical domain gave the lowest rates (14.63). Conclusions: The results have shown that quality of life of Polish seafarers is quite high

Assessment of the European Guide for Risk Prevention in Small Fishing Vessels. Guide applicability in Polish coastal fishing

The European Commission — The Directorate General of Employment, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities is going to publish the European Guide for Risk Prevention in Small Fishing Vessels. The legislative basis was the Report COM (2009) 599 on the practical implementation of Health and Safety at Work Directives 93/103/EC (fishing vessels) and 92/29/EEC (medical treatment on board vessels), which recommended the drawing up of a non-binding guide for vessels under 15 m in length. The Guide draft was produced directly by Labour Asociados, SSL, Spain. The organization has asked IIMTM in Gdynia, Poland, to participate in the project of evaluating the draft of the Guide. The testing took place simultaneously and homogenously in other chosen European countries. The results of the assessment are presented below. They indicate some differences and specific challenges faced by fishermen working in small costal boats in the Baltic area. The Guide should take these under consideration

Characteristics of Polish travellers: six-month experience from the University Centre of Maritime and Tropical Medicine in Gdynia, Poland

Background: The number of international travels has grown substantially over the last decade, both globallyand in Poland. Thousands of Poles travel to tropical or subtropical countries in Asia, Africa or South Americaeach year. The aim of this paper was to discuss the characteristics of Polish travellers seeking pre-travelconsultation at the largest diagnostic and treatment travel medicine clinic in Poland.Materials and methods: This retrospective study was based on the analysis of medical records of 1291patients seeking pre-travel advice at the University Centre of Maritime and Tropical Medicine in Gdynia,Poland, between 1 July and 31 December 2022. The study comprised the analysis of the following patientvariables: age, sex, travel details (purpose and length of travel, continents and countries to be visited,activities planned). The study also aimed to evaluate the range of prevention measures which were recommended/administered (preventive vaccinations, chemoprophylaxis). In addition, it assessed the healthstatus of the patients presenting at the travel medicine clinic.Results: Patients who sought pre-travel advice were mostly people aged 18–35 years old (50.1%), travellingfor tourism (72.2%), for a maximum period of 4 weeks (85.0%), travelling in December (24.3%) or in November(22.2%). Most of the Polish travellers consulted at the clinic travelled to Asia (56.2%), mainly to Thailand (27.3%),Vietnam (10.8%) or India (8.7%). Most travellers were planning a beach holiday (56.4%). As regards extremeactivities, scuba diving was the most popular among the patients involved in the study (22.5%). The most frequentlyadministered immunoprophylaxis were vaccines against typhoid fever (76.3%) and hepatitis A (56.2%).Other commonly recommended/prescribed prevention measures included: probiotics (75.9%), repellents(73.6%), antimalarial drugs (60.9%), and antidiarrheal antibiotics (51.9%). The analysis of patient interviewsdemonstrated that 42.4% of Polish travellers consulted at the clinic complained of no medical problems while36.0% were taking chronic medications, mainly for allergies (17.1%) or thyroid disorders (12.2%).Conclusions: A growing number of people from Poland travel to destinations where the risk of infectiousdisease exposure or transmission is high. Providing a patient with appropriate advice during a pre-travelconsultation will help protect the traveller against travel-associated risks at their intended destinations

Polish system of education in maritime health care and medical assistance for seafarers

The Polish public awareness of the crucial importance of the own maritime economy to the very existenceof the national state has its historical reasons. The Polish maritime involvement has seen several dramaticcrises, but the Polish nationals have become an established group in the global marine trade workforceand are entitled to the proper health care. In this paper the main maritime health issues are mentioned.To meet the issues, also the national education system provides the opportunities for both seafarers andmedical professionals. The Polish doctors can specialise in the maritime medicine. In many cases the generalmedicine students formations include these topics as well. The psychological aspects are also takeninto account, both of the education of the seafarers and the organisational structure of the Polish healthcare system. Some recent aspects of the Polish participation in the international cooperation in the fieldof the medical support of the maritime economy are also described

The psychosocial burden and stress coping strategies among seafarers

Background: The seafarers’ professional group is one of the most numerous in the world. According to the statistics of the European Maritime Safety Agency (2020), there are approximately 280,000 people employed at sea in the European Union. The specific work environment on the ship (climatic, physical, chemical, psychological factors, etc.) is related to experiencing long-term stress. The World Health Organization considers work-related stressors to be very important determinants of health and disease. One of the basic psychological resources related to adaptation to demanding working conditions are strategies for coping with stress. The aim of the study is to assess the occurrence of harmful psychosocial factors in the work of seafarers and the stress coping strategies and their relationship with somatic diseases. Materials and methods: One hundred and fifteen seafarers who received a maritime health certificate participated in the study at the Occupational Medicine Clinic. The study was part of a larger project looking at the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among seafarers. The study used the Coping Questionnaire in Stressful Situations (CISS) (Endler and Parker) and a general questionnaire created for the purposes of the study. Results: Thirty six per cent respondents were exposed to traumatic event and to having nightmares, 13% had been discriminated at least once in the workplace. A positive correlation was found between discrimination and depression, nightmares and trauma. In addition, people who admitted having experienced trauma slept shorter (also while at home) and experienced nightmares more often. The most common style of coping was task oriented (29; 28.5%), and avoidance oriented (15%). The study also found a positive correlation between depression and the style of emotion-oriented coping and avoidance-oriented coping. Conclusions: The specific working conditions and exposure to traumatic events have a negative impact on the health of seafarers by increasing the risk of depression and cardiovascular diseases. The coping styles with stress depend on the position in the ship hierarchy

Establishment of the International Maritime Health Foundation: the next step in scientific publishing in maritime health

The Bulletin of the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine (IMTM) was published first time in 1948 as a preliminary publication. Since then it has developed and from 1999 it is known as International Maritime Health (IMH). Initially it was published by the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine (IMTM) in Gdynia. From 2009 it was published by the Polish Society of Maritime, Tropical and Travel Medicine (PSMTTM) in cooperation with the International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) and the Norwegian Centre for Maritime Medicine (NCMM), later the Norwegian Centre for Maritime and Diving Medicine (NCMDM) at the Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen. After a couple of years of planning and discussions on how to take the journal forward, the International Maritime Health Foundation (IMHF) was established under Polish Law, 21st June 2018. This article discusses the process from the very beginning of the journal, until the establishment of the IMHF as well as the foundation’s objectives and way forward