PhD Studentship: Impact of “Blue Space” as a Working Condition on the Health and Wellbeing of Offshore Windfarm Workers

Supervisor(s)

1) Professor Stacy Clemes (Loughborough University)

2) Professor Fehmidah Munir (Loughborough University)

Enquiries email: S.A.Clemes@lboro.ac.uk

Funding for: UK students

Subject areas

• Psychology
• Biological Sciences
• Anatomy, Physiology & Pathology
• Sports Science

Project description

The offshore wind industry has expanded rapidly and as a large influx of offshore workers is expected to meet the growth of the industry, companies now have an important task of maintaining health and safety at work in order to sustain well-being and retain the workforce until statutory pension.

Whilst blue spaces (e.g., coasts, rivers) can play a direct and indirect role in improving health and well-being through reducing stress, depression and anxiety as examples, working at sea can cause feelings of confinement and negatively impact workers’ activity levels and sedentary behaviour, leading to poor health outcomes.

This novel study will involve an assessment of offshore workers’ health behaviours (including activity, sitting, diet and sleep) to fully understand the impact of this working environment on these important health behaviours.

The student will work directly with offshore workers, as well as stakeholders such as human resources personnel, safety managers and occupational health staff, to design, test and pilot intervention content to support offshore workers to make pragmatic, beneficial changes to key health behaviours, within the confines of their working environment.

Methodology

Firstly, a systematic review will be conducted to identify the impact of blue spaces on offshore workers, to understand the positive and negative effects of being at sea, and the positive and negative effects of working conditions. From the review, knowledge gaps will be identified. Findings from the systematic review will be used to shape a study examining health behaviours (e.g. activity levels, sitting, sleep and diet) and physical and mental health markers to understand the interaction of work and blue spaces on health and wellbeing. This work will involve both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Objective data on weather conditions will be recorded.

The findings of this work will inform the content and design of co-creation workshops, involving offshore workers and key stakeholders, where appropriate intervention and/or workplace policies will be designed to support offshore workers to maximise the benefits of working in a blue space. If time permits, the intervention/proposed policy changes will be piloted in a small sample of offshore workers.

Eligibility requirements

Entry Requirements

If you have received a First-class Honours degree, or a 2:1 Honours degree and a Masters, or a Distinction at Master’s level with any undergraduate degree (or the international equivalents) in psychology, biosciences, physical activity and/or health, we would like to hear from you.

This scholarship is open to Home (UK) students only.

Closes: 9 May 2025

Advert information