Work

Cruise ship worker mental health

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The conditions of work on a cruise ship are known to contribute to mental health problems.Crew members can spend months to almost a year away from home while working nearly around the clock with no days off.But access to mental health care is uneven on cruise ships.According to three people I have talked to who have worked on cruise ships, cruise lines did not offer mental health resources, like therapists, to crew members.Today, while some cruise lines advertise telehealth services on their websites, it's unclear how widely those services are available to crew.Crew schedules also make it difficult for them to meet regularly with a therapist, and long stints at sea make it challenging for crew to access telehealth services.According to a report produced as part of the 2022 Seafarer Mental Health Conference Consensus, a gathering of maritime industry experts including medical professionals and psychologists, the maritime industry has not fully addressed a number of risk factors for poor mental health among seafarers.A systematic review of the mental health of maritime personnel published in 2022 cited in the Seafarer Mental Health Conference report noted various potential reasons for poor mental health among seafarers, including younger age, poor physical health, feeling unsafe, high job demands, lengthy working hours, poor team cohesion, inadequate social support, lack of autonomy and poor perception of management.
Author: Long, Chelsea
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6980856527
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