Empowering Seafarers as Agents of Their Mental Health: The Role of Information and Communication Technology in Seafarers' Well-Being.

The academic literature seldom views information and communication technology (ICT) as a means to empower merchant seafarers in terms of their active and positive contributions to their mental health (MH) and overall well-being. Seafarers are often viewed as recipients and not the sources of health interventions. Using mixed methods, this paper examines how seafarers' MH has not been the top priority among seafarers themselves, and how ICT and formal education might empower seafarers in health promotion.

Seafarers' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: An examination of current supportive measures and their perceived effectiveness.

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.

Bullying behavior and employee well-being: how do different forms of social support buffer against depression, anxiety and exhaustion?

Purpose: Workplace bullying has severe negative consequences for the well-being of targeted employees. Previous research suggests that social support may buffer against such adverse effects. However, it remains unclear if different forms of support have equally strong effects and if support buffers equally effectively against different outcomes.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarers' mental health and chronic fatigue: Beneficial effects of onboard peer support, external support and Internet access.

While commercial shipping remained vital for maintaining global supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic, measures imposed to control the spread of infection have disrupted crew changes and impacted interactions with port personnel and among crew members on board. Initial reports indicate that this affected work and life on board, the length of seafarers' time on board as well as seafarers' employment and family concerns. However, the consequences for seafarers' well-being are not well understood.