Crew accidents reported during 3 years on a cruise ship

Study objective - To register and analyze data from all crew injuries reported to the medical center of a cruise ship with a median crew of 630 during a three-year period and to determine high risk areas, equipment and behavior. Methods - All crew injuries reported to the medical center aboard were registered on a standardized form at first visit. An injury was classified at follow-up as ‘lost time accident’ (LTA) if it caused the victim to be off work for more than one day and/or to be signed off for medical attention (medical sign-off). Results - During 3 years, 361 injuries (23% women) were reported aboard. Thirty percent were LTA. The marine department accounted for 14% (deck 5%; engine 9%), the hotel department for 79% and contractors for 7% of the reports. Filipinos comprised half the crew, reported 35% of the accidents, and their rate of serious injuries were lower than non-Filipino crew (p Key message - Well-equipped, competent medical staff aboard can after crew injury effectively reduce time off work, as well as number of referrals to medical specialists ashore, helicopter evacuations and ship diversions, and medical sign-off.