NEWS

Fishermen's Health

To Whom It May Concern,

I am a fourth year medical student at the University of Southampton although
I hail from Plymouth. Both my father and grandfather were fishermen and I
have decided to write my thesis on fishermen's health with the aim to find
out more about the frequency and nature of occupational injuries among
fishermen, and about their long-term health. This study forms part of my
medical degree and is being supervised by a team from the Medical Research
Council Centre at Southampton General Hospital. It has full ethics approval
and funding is provided by the Medical Research Council. I hope that any
findings from this study may be useful in trying to improve health and
safety provisions for fishermen.

A study in the Scottish catching sector identified a need for further
research within the industry and a number of stress factors affecting those
working in the current industry. Mine is the first study aiming to identify
the nature and type of injuries and health problems affecting fishermen in
the South-west of England focusing on those working in the ports of Newlyn,
Plymouth and Brixham.

I am keen to contact as many skippers and crew within the region between now
and January. Participation is by way of a 10 minute interview, using a short
questionnaire about work and health. The personal information given will be
treated in strict confidence, and will not be passed on to anyone else
outside the small study team.  To safeguard privacy, data will be stored
securely, according to a strict code of practice.  A statistical analysis
of the study will be made public, but this will not include any information
in a form that could lead to the identification of individuals or small
groups of people.

Kind regards, Helen.

Email info@brixhamnews.com to forward any interest in Helen's study...