Medical treatment rates on shore for crew members of cruise ships

Abstract

Background: The human resources required on large cruise ships can only be secured with crew members from different countries of origin with different health statuses. Method: The present secondary data analysis is to determine whether there is an increased frequency of treatment for crew members for certain diseases or injuries, or a difference in the frequency of treatment for certain groups and/or countries of origin; whether an increased use of dental procedures could be confirmed, and their average costs. The data were collected over six months in 2015 from a major cruise ship company. Results: There were 1,627 treatments for 1,026 crew members. The illness and injury rates were significantly different both in the occupational groups (p < .001) as well as the countries of origin (p = .004). It was confirmed that dental procedures were most frequent (n = 915 cases), in particular for Asian crew members; in contrast to Germans they had a 1.6-fold higher chance of dental procedures.Conclusions: A mixed calculation for dental and jaw treatments for the crew members and the expected passenger treatments would justify the employment of a dentist on the ship. However, medical follow-up costs for crew members on board could be minimised by a previous thorough assessment of their state of health.