Seafarers help keep the world moving, but the conditions of those working at sea are changing quickly.
“We may not see seafarers in our everyday lives, but so much depends on their work,” said Dr. Sepideh Rajeziesfahani, a post-doctoral fellow in the Faculty of Medicine. “Imagine if they stopped working, even for one day. The impact would be felt very quickly. Yet their health and mental health needs are still not visible enough in research and policy.”
International collaboration
Dr. Rajeziesfahani has received an International Post-doctoral Fellowship from the Ocean Frontier Institute, a prestigious award that supports early-career researchers leading collaborative ocean-climate research.
International collaboration is a defining feature of this fellowship. Fellows are co-supervised by Canadian and international researchers, travel between partner institutions and contribute to research life across those settings.
For Dr. Rajeziesfahani, the award will support a project rooted in collaboration between Memorial University and partner institutions in Sweden and Norway.
“It is about bringing evidence together in a way that can help support better decisions and better protection for workers.”
Dr. Desai Shan, a maritime law expert turned occupational health and safety researcher and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences, is supervising the work.
“This project looks at how changing ocean conditions may affect seafarers’ health, mental health and access to care,” said Dr. Rajeziesfahani. “Climate change is not only an environmental issue. For people working at sea, it can also become a workplace health issue.”
The project intentionally bridges disciplines, bringing together psychology, occupational health, maritime policy, environmental data and international collaboration.
Dr. Rajeziesfahani’s background in clinical psychology and health research and Dr. Shan’s background matters, because seafarers’ health is shaped not only by individual experiences but also by working conditions, systems and policy, she says.
Collecting evidence for better protection
The research will examine how severe ocean-climate conditions, such as storms, extreme heat and cold, high winds, shifting sea ice and UV exposure, may transform occupational hazards for people working at sea.
“We want to listen to seafarers’ lived experiences and connect those experiences with environmental information,” said Dr. Rajeziesfahani. “That can help us understand how changing ocean conditions are linked to health, access to care and equity.”
The project will also explore a digital health-environment tool. The goal is to build useful evidence for researchers and people working in policy, occupational health and maritime support systems.
“This is not only about collecting information. It is about bringing evidence together in a way that can help support better decisions and better protection for workers.”
Rapid environmental change
The urgency of the work is heightened by rapid environmental change, particularly in Arctic and northern marine contexts.
“The Arctic is changing very quickly, and those changes matter far beyond the region,” she said.
Ultimately, the research aims to support both individual workers and the future of the occupation itself.
“Strengthening equitable access to health care and support for seafarers is part of building a more sustainable future for maritime work,” said Dr. Rajeziesfahani. “I hope this research can help make their experiences more visible and support conditions that allow young people to choose and remain in this occupation with confidence.”
Dr. Rajeziesfahani’s international post-doctoral fellowship begins in September and runs for two years.
