Depression and fatigue among flight attendants in Thailand

Abstract

Background : Flight attendants have a lifestyle that may be related to mental depression and fatigue. However, there has been no study on depression and fatigue of flight attendants in Thailand.

Objectives : To study depression status, fatigue, and their related factors among flight attendants of a commercial airline in Thailand.

Methods : Data were collected from 405 flight attendants of a Thai commercial airline from August to November 2017. The questionnaire included:
1) general information;

2) insomnia severity index;

3) depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-21) in Thai; and

4) revised-piper fatigue scale (R-PFS). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Odds ratio
(OR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI), Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results : The study showed that 16.3% of flight attendants had a mild level of depression, 60.8% had a moderate level of fatigue. The multiple logistic regression analysis found that the risk factors related to depression were
moderate of fatigue (OR_adj = 12.18: 95%CI = 3.70 – 40.12), severe fatigue (OR_adj = 20.50: 95%CI = 4.67 – 89.9), and insomnia (OR_adj = 1.14: 95%CI = 1.07 – 1.21)

Conclusion : A company should search for defensive measure of mental health illness and fatigue of flight attendants by allocating medical examination. Besides, there should be some proper trainings to improve skills about problem solving and initial self-care of mental health of flight attendants.