Identifying Risk and Protective Factors: Predictors of Personal Flotation Device Use Among Commercial Fishermen in Alaska

BACKGROUND: In the 1990s, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath (NIOSH) research found the overall rate of commercial fishing fatalities in Alaska was declining. However, there was no change in the rate of fatal falls overboard, which are the second leading cause of fatalities in the Alaskan and US fishing industry. Previous research has shown that wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) greatly increases the probability of surviving a fall overboard and surveillance data show that absence of PFDs is a common factor among victims of fatal falls overboard. This study aimed to quantify PFD use, identify preconceptions about PFDs, and determine predictors of PFD use among fishermen in the Alaska commercial fishing industry.

METHODS:  Data were analyzed from 409 questionnaires administered to fishermen working on four types of commercial fishing vessels in Alaska (longliners, trawlers, gillnetters and crabbers). Risk perceptions of falling overboard, PFD use, and attitudes regarding PFDs were described, and compared using Chi-square tests. A forward stepwise procedure was used to fit multivariate logistic regression models predicting PFD use.

RESULTS:  Fishermen believed their career chance of falling overboard was 36%, and 24% reported being very worried about falling overboard. Only 5% were not at all worried. Half (49%) believed PFDs were “very effective” for surviving a fall overboard. PFD use ranged from 0% reporting always using a PFD among longliners to 51% among trawlers. Never using a PFD was reported by 65% of longliners and 12% of trawlers. Believing that PFDs were an entanglement hazard was inversely associated with any use of PFDs among longliners (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.73) and gillnetters (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.19, 0.76). Believing that PFDs interfered with work was inversely associated with high use of PFDs among crabbers (OR 0.16; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.45) and with always using PFDs among trawlers (OR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.78). Other significant predictors were specific to each vessel type.

CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the barriers to wearing PFDs is an important first step in increasing PFD use among fishermen. This study revealed that although many fishermen worry about falling overboard, PFD use differed substantially across vessel types. Beliefs about PFDs interfering with work and creating new hazards were barriers to wearing them. As both PFD use and beliefs varied by vessel type, interventions to increase PFD use in the fishing industry should be tailored to address the significant barriers specific to each vessel type.