Prevalence and Associated Factors of Sea Sickness in Thai Naval Personnel

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Published: Oct 23, 2025
Updated: 2025-10-23
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Leelawadee Pengsut
Resident in Preventive Medicine (Maritime Medicine), Naval Medical Department, Royal Thai Navy, Bangkok // Student in Master of Science Program (Health Research and Management), Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Pornchai Sithisarankul
Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

Abstract

          This cross-sectional descriptive research aimed to study the prevalence of and analyze the relationships between personal factors, work factors, and environmental factors with motion sickness among Royal Thai Navy personnel. The sample consisted of 360 naval personnel from the Royal Thai Fleet, selected through multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires designed to assess motion sickness-related factors and Motion Sickness Susceptibility Questionnaire, with a content validity index of 0.67 - 1. and reliability of 0.91. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and relationships were tested using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests.
          The study revealed a sea sickness prevalence of 40.8% among the sample population. Personal factors significantly associated with sea sickness included the use of anti-motion sickness medication (χ2 = 24.22) and motion sickness susceptibility scores above 11.3 (χ2 = 17.17). Regarding work and environmental factors, ship size (χ2 = 27.03), average daily working hours (χ2 = 4.75), sleeping quarter location (χ2 = 13.08), and encountering storms during navigation (χ2 = 10.67) showed statistically significant relationships with motion sickness (p < .05).
          Therefore, it is recommended to establish screening policies and sea sickness risk assessment for personnel before duty, provide regular training on sea sickness prevention and management, and improve shipboard environmental conditions to reduce triggering factors. These measures aim to enhance the effectiveness of sea sickness prevention and management among Royal Thai Navy personnel.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2025): May - August 2025
Section
Research Article
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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