Grant: Catalyst Grant: Partnering for Impact - IPPH - Structural Determinants of Health

Seafarers working in Canadian waters face unique health challenges due to their isolated and remote work environments, limited access to healthcare, and long-standing gaps in welfare services. This project brings together researchers from Memorial University, knowledge users from Mission to Seafarers Canada and its St. John's Station to co-produce knowledge and activities that address these health inequities. Canada, as a signatory to the Maritime Labour Convention (2006), is responsible for ensuring that seafarers have access to adequate healthcare and support for their well-being on board, in ports, and at home. While major Canadian ports offer welfare services, St. John's lacked such support until 2025. In response, a coalition of maritime stakeholders established the Port-based Welfare Committee in 2024, and the Mission to Seafarers St. John's Station launched online in August 2025. We will first host a Maritime Health and Safety Workshop to share research and previous findings on maritime health and safety (e.g. mental health challenges, fatigue, search and rescue challenges at sea) by Memorial University Researchers. Then, the knowledge users and University researchers will work together to identify gaps in maritime health services. Applying frameworks such as the NIOSH WellBQ model, Levesque's healthcare access model, and Canada's Food Guide, researchers and knowledge users will co-design research to assess seafarers' health status at sea, dietary patterns, and barriers to accessing healthcare. Following the knowledge mobilization workshop, three roundtable dialogues will be held separately on the themes of nutrition, healthcare access, and co-creating health support services for maritime workplace solutions. This initiative will strengthen the partnerships and enhance the capacity of Mission to Seafarers St. John's Station as a maritime health and well-being support hub.