Health, self-care and the offshore workforce - opportunities for behaviour change interventions, an epidemiological survey

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The high risk nature of offshore work and inherent occupational hazards necessitate that offshore workers engage in behaviours that promote health and wellbeing. The survey aimed to assess offshore workers' health, self-care, quality of life and mental wellbeing, and to identify associated areas requiring behaviour change. METHODS: Offshore workers attending a course at a training facility in Scotland were invited to complete a questionnaire comprising 11 validated measures of health, self-care, quality of life and mental wellbeing. RESULTS: A total of 352 offshore workers responded (completion rate 45.4%). Almost three-quarters were identified as overweight/obese (n=236, 74.4%). Median scores for SF-8 quality of life (physical=56.1, interquartile range (IQR)=4.8; mental=54.7, IQR=8.1) and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scales were positive (52.0, IQR=9.0). The largest proportion of participants' scores across alcohol use (n=187, 53.4%) and sleep quality (n=229, 67.0%) domains were categorised as negative. The median number of self-care domains for which offshore workers scored negatively was 3 (IQR=2.0). CONCLUSIONS: There are key areas relating to the health, quality of life, mental wellbeing and self-care of the offshore workforce that warrant addressing.