SOLUTION Emergency medical guide and app for all the world's seafarers. Gard launched the Mariners Medico Guide, which is an emergency medical guide and app for all the world's seafarers. There is a complete guide available for download on Google Play and the Apple Appstore. ABOUT THE MARINERS MEDICO GUIDE ABOUT THE GUIDE
The guide provides a step-by-step introduction to how emergency medical situations on board vessels can be handled. Often far out to sea, far from the nearest emergency room, often also without access to the internet. The guide is unique because it has a symptom-based approach that makes it easier for the user to get relevant advice and the right medical help. In addition, the healthcare content will be continuously updated.
WHY WE CREATED THE APP The need for medical assistance at sea has increased in recent years and through the pandemic the need for mental health care also increased. The work to develop this digital health service started in full in 2019. "The world's seafarers are the beating heart of global trade, and we must ensure their safety and well-being. That is what this app is about - investing in all seafarers to ensure that they feel safe and that they receive the best possible health care at sea, says Gard chief Rolf Thore Roppestad. "
The burden and pressure on seafarers has increased in recent years. Gard alone saw the number of claims related to crew illness or death increase by almost 75 percent from 2018 to 2021. In 2020, the year the Covid pandemic broke out, the number of cases classified as mental illness claims increased by 34 percent. Unfortunately, the number of deaths and suicides has also increased.
THE WORKING PROCESS
The work has followed the principles of service design where the emphasis was on gaining insight into the needs of seafarers. A wide range of interviews were conducted with seafarers with medical responsibilities, and based on this, prototypes were made and user tests carried out. The feedback from the first prototypes was important in order to establish a clear design direction for the further development work. In parallel with this, there was a large production of health-related content in the form of medical procedures.
DEVELOPED BY HELSE BERGEN, GARD, SONAT AND YOUWELL
The responsibility for the academic content is the Norwegian Board of Maritime Medicine and Diving Medicine at Haukeland University Hospital.
Sonat and Youwell have been responsible for developing the guide based on the Youwell platform.
