LAUSR

BACKGROUND In case of an emergency related to crew's health the first responsible person on board is the appointed officer of the ship. Sometimes these officers aren't just the only responsible person but also the only available option. Therefore, they are expected to handle various types of cases from disease outbreaks to food poisoning. However, officers on board aren't particularly trained or prepared for such extreme circumstances. Services like Telemedical Assistances may provide great help in such moments, but the first identification and contamination of various diseases might not be possible without previously acquired knowledge and awareness. This study aims to examine and discover the basic health knowledge and risk awareness of undergraduate maritime students and assess the needs for improved health training for future maritime officers. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted by proposing an anonymous questionnaire to the undergraduate students of maritime faculties located in Turkey. Questionnaire form was adapted from the study of Grappasonni et al. This questionnaire examines the awareness of health risks and risks of contracting communicable diseases among seafarers. A total of 266 Turkish participants joined the study. RESULTS Basic health knowledge of the maritime students seems to be well acquired expect for the communicable diseases and food hygiene. General risk perception for most health issues especially for the communicable diseases is low for all participants. Findings note that most maritime students get their health and disease information from Internet sources. Several differences between Marine Transportation Engineering and Marine Engineering students are found, related to concerns they feel on board for health issues. All maritime students are more concerned about the risks of psychological problems due to isolation. A risk, perception and in some cases awareness shift is observed between classes. All results are limited with participants' nationality. CONCLUSIONS Seafarers should be educated and trained according the conditions they face on board. An improved training method should be adopted. This way, the future officers will be qualified to intervene in emergency situations.