Determination of the quality of life and their relationship between the effective factors among seamen

This descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional study was carried out in order to determine the quality of life in seamen and its relationship with the affecting factors. The study sample consisted of 103 Turkish seamen who applied to the Seamen Test Center located in the Karadeniz Eregli Port Authority under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and who participated in the study voluntarily. The study data were collected using the Employee Assessment Form and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Form, Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR). The data obtained were analyzed via the SPSS software (Statistical Package of Social Science) version 21.0. The Mann Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H, and Spearman's rho tests were used for statistical analyses. The results were evaluated within a 95% confidence interval.The majority of the seamen who participated in the study were males (98%) and between the age group 36–48 (44%). The mean age was 39.29 ± 9.43. Among the seamen, 58% smoked and 42% used alcohol. The rate of exercising was 29% and the mean BMI was 27.63 ± 3.78. When the scores of WHOQOL-BREF subscales of the seamen participating in the study were examined, the mean score of the physical health domain was 15.99 ± 1.83 (Min–Max = 10.29–20.0), the mean score of the psychological domain was 15.77 ± 2.26 (Mi–Max = 8.00–20.0), the mean score of the social relationships domain was 15.50 ± 2.73 (Min–Max = 8.00-20.0), the mean score of the environment domain was 14.17 ± 2.25 (Min–Max = 7.50–19.50), and the mean score of the TR environment domain was 14.18 ± 2.13 (Min–Max = 8.44–19.11). The study results indicated that the seamen's quality of life related to health varied according to the properties of the ship of employment, the flag of the ship, perception of quality of life and satisfaction of health beyond their socio-demographic and health characteristics and behaviors. In this regard, it is suggested to improve the conditions of the working environment particularly in Turkish-flagged ships, to establish training and counseling programs, and set up systems to monitor the seamen's health status. Keywords: Health promotion, Nursing, Occupational safety, Seamen, Turkey, Quality of life