Dataset Information

Sleep quality of offshore wind farm workers in the German exclusive economic zone: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To assess the quality of sleep of employees in the German offshore wind industry and to explore factors associated with poor sleep quality.

Design

Web-based cross-sectional survey.

Setting

Offshore companies operating in wind farms within the German exclusive economic zone.

Participants

Workers with regular offshore commitments and at least 28 days spent offshore in the past year (n=268).

Outcome measures

Sleep quality in the past 4?weeks, troubles falling asleep or sleeping through in the past 4?weeks, differences in sleep quality between offshore deployments and onshore leaves.

Results

Having problems with sleep onset was reported by 9.5% of the respondents. 16.5% reported troubles with maintaining sleep three or more times per week. The overall quality of sleep was rated as very bad by only 1.7% of the participants. 47.9% of the workers reported their quality of sleep to be worse during offshore commitments than when being onshore. Higher levels of exposition to noise, vibrations and poor air quality were associated with sleeping troubles and poorer sleep quality. Sharing the sleep cabin with colleagues was associated with troubles sleeping through. No association was found for working in rotating shifts and for regularity of the offshore commitments.

Conclusions

Workers in our study showed frequent sleep problems and poorer sleep quality offshore than onshore. Our results indicate that higher degrees of exposure to noise, vibrations and artificial ventilation are associated with poor sleep quality rather than organisational factors such as shift-work and type of working schedule. In view of the high demands of the offshore workplace and the workers' particular recovery needs, addressing sleep disorders should be part of any health and safety management strategy for this workplace.

SUBMITTER: Velasco Garrido M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6252718 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Sleep quality of offshore wind farm workers in the German exclusive economic zone: a cross-sectional study.

Velasco Garrido Marcial M Mette Janika J Mache Stefanie S Harth Volker V Preisser Alexandra Marita AM

BMJ open 20181118 11

<h4>Objectives</h4>To assess the quality of sleep of employees in the German offshore wind industry and to explore factors associated with poor sleep quality.<h4>Design</h4>Web-based cross-sectional survey.<h4>Setting</h4>Offshore companies operating in wind farms within the German exclusive economic zone.<h4>Participants</h4>Workers with regular offshore commitments and at least 28 days spent offshore in the past year (n=268).<h4>Outcome measures</h4>Sleep quality in the past 4 weeks, troubles ...[more]

PMID: 30455390

Similar Datasets

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To assess the physical strains of employees in the German offshore wind industry, according to job type and phase of the wind farm (under construction or operation). DESIGN:Web-based cross-sectional survey. SETTING:Offshore wind farm companies operating within the German exclusive economic zone. PARTICIPANTS:Male workers with regular offshore commitments and at least 28 days spent offshore in the past year (n=268). OUTCOME MEASURES:Physical strains (eg, climbing, noise, working overhead, with twisted upper body or in confined spaces, vibration, heavy lifting, humidity, odours). RESULTS:The most frequently mentioned physical strain was 'climbing' with 63.8% of the respondents reporting to be always or frequently confronted with climbing and ascending stairs during offshore work. Work as a technician was associated with a greater exposition to noise, vibrations, humidity, cold, heat, chemical substances, lifting/carrying heavy loads, transport of equipment, working in non-ergonomic positions and in cramped spaces, as well as climbing.Indeed, statistical analyses showed that, after adjusting for phase of the wind farm, age, nationality, offshore experience, work schedule and type of shift, compared with non-technicians, working as a technician was associated with more frequently lifting/carrying of heavy loads (OR 2.58, 95%?CI 1.58 to 4.23), transport of equipment (OR 2.06 95%?CI 1.27 to 3.33), working with a twisted upper body (OR 2.85 95%?CI 1.74 to 4.69), working overhead (OR 2.77 95%?CI 1.67 to 4.58) and climbing (OR 2.30 95%?CI 1.40 to 3.77). Working in wind farms under construction was strongly associated with increased and decreased exposure to humidity (OR 2.32 95%?CI 1.38 to 3.92) and poor air quality (OR 0.58 95%?CI 0.35 to 0.95), respectively. CONCLUSIONS:Workers on offshore wind farms constitute a heterogeneous group, including a wide variety of occupations. The degree of exposure to detrimental physical strains varies depending on the type of job. Technicians are more exposed to ergonomic challenges than other offshore workers.

Project description:ObjectivesTo investigate the awareness and use of health promotion offers among offshore wind workers and to study associations with demographic and workplace characteristics. To examine employees' reasons for (non-)participation and their wishes for health promotion activities offshore.DesignMixed-methods study presenting the results from semistructured telephone interviews and a web-based cross-sectional survey.SettingOffshore wind parks in the German exclusive economic zone in the North and Baltic Seas.Participants21 offshore workers in the qualitative study (19 male/2 female; all German). 303 offshore workers in the quantitative study (287 male/13 female; 275 German/24 other nationalities).Outcome measuresAwareness and use of workplace health promotion offers and associations with demographic and workplace characteristics (age, work schedule and wind park phase); reasons for (non-)participation; needs and wishes for health promotion offers.ResultsFew workers indicated being aware of health promotion programmes at their workplace. Single offers were reported, with fitness facilities being the most common offer employees recognised and had used (n=168, 55.6%). Employees with a regular work schedule were more likely to have used fitness facilities offshore (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.22, 95%?CI 1.53 to 6.80). Workers in the construction phase were more likely to have used massages (AOR=8.19, 95%?CI 2.82 to 23.77). Younger workers were less likely to belong to the group of those who were aware of fitness facilities but had not used them (AOR=0.43, 95%?CI 0.19 to 0.98). Employees expressed various needs and wishes for behavioural and environmental preventive measures offshore.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate a perceived need among the workers for the development of health promotion programmes offshore. Since the awareness and use of offers may partly depend on personal and organisational characteristics, this should be taken into account in the planning of health promotion activities.

Dataset Information

Sleep quality of offshore wind farm workers in the German exclusive economic zone: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Sleep quality of offshore wind farm workers in the German exclusive economic zone: a cross-sectional study.

Similar Datasets

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