Problems encountered by newly-hired seafarers onboard ship: The basis for a health intervention program

Abstract

This descriptive-correlational study aimed at ascertaining newly-hired seafarers’ problems encountered onboard ship as the basis for a health intervention program. A researcher-constructed questionnaire about the problems encountered onboard ship was administered to newly-hired seafarers. The computer-processed statistics used were means, frequency, and rank for descriptive analysis; and t-test was used for Independent Samples, and One-way ANOVA for inferential analysis. Alpha level was set at 0.5. The study found that, generally, newly-hired seafarers had highly common problems encountered onboard ship. They shared 5 most common problems: they experienced homesickness and seasickness within a few months; long distance relationships suffered; they hardly adjust to other crew onboard, and they suffered fatigue onboard ship. On the other hand, they also shared 5 less common problems: they were not reliable in performing tasks alone; they ignored “Safety First” while on duty; they could not be assigned to other tasks; they lacked relevant training, and they had no experience onboard any ship. Significant differences existed in the newly-hired seafarers’ common problems encountered onboard ship when classified according to age and location of residence. No significant differences existed in the newly-hired seafarers’ common problems encountered onboard ship when classified according to year of graduation.