Skip to main content

Table 1 Peer-reviewed papers on health from database searches (n=20)

From: Occupational, physical, sexual and mental health and violence among migrant and trafficked commercial fishers and seafarers from the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS): systematic review

Author (year)

Study design (year of data collection)

Sampling method

Sample description

Outcomes of interest

Country

Study quality

Entz et al. (2000)a [18]

Cross-sectional survey (1998)

Convenience sampling at fishing ports

N=818 Fishermen (582 Thai, 137 Burmese, 99 Cambodian)

HIV/AIDS, Condom use, Alcohol/drug use

Thailand

Good

Entz et al. (2001)a [19]

Cross-sectional survey (1998)

Convenience sampling at fishing ports

N=818 Fishermen (582 Thai, 137 Burmese, 99 Cambodian)

Sexual health, Treatment seeking behaviour

Thailand

Good

Nguyen et al. (2011)[27]

Cross-sectional survey (2007)

Purposive sampling via marine companies

N=94 Vietnamese seafarers

HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B

Vietnam

Poor

Ford and Chamrathrithirong (2007)b [20]

Cross-sectional baseline survey (2004)

Stratified, snowball sampling by occupational/ geographic groups

N=1603 Fishermen (1263 Burmese, 333 Cambodian)

Condom use

Thailand

Good

Ford and Chamrathrithirong

(2008)b [21]

Mixed methods study, cross-sectional baseline survey (2004) (study [20]), Qualitative interviews, focus groups (2007)

Stratified snowball sampling by occupational/geographic groups (quantitative),

Purposive sampling (qualitative)

N=1603 Fishermen (1263 Burmese, 333 Cambodian), N=29 key informants, N=4 focus groups (5-7 Fishermen each)

Condom use, HIV/AIDS knowledge

Thailand

Good

Musumari and Chamchan (2016)* [22]

Cross-sectional baseline (2010), endline survey (2014)*

Stratified, snowball sampling by occupational/ geographic groups

Baseline: N=578 Fishermen (148 Myanmar, 430 Cambodian). Endline: N=510 Fishermen (125 Myanmar, 385 Cambodian)

Condom use, HIV/AIDS knowledge

Thailand

Good

MOPH (2011) [26]

Cross-sectional baseline survey (2003-5) for randomized trial

Consecutive sampling in n=47 health service provider screening sites

N=194 Thai fishermen (N=192 screened/tested for HIV)

HIV/AIDS

Thailand

Good

Sopheab et al. (2006) [24]

Cross-sectional household and individual survey (2002)

Stratified random cluster sampling

N=262 Cambodian fishermen

Condom use, Healthcare seeking behaviour

Cambodia

Fair

Ohnmar et al. (2009) [23]

Cross-sectional household survey (1999)

Random sampling

N=639 Burmese fishermen

Sexual health – penile practices, Condom use

Thailand

Good

Samnang et al. (2004) [25]

Cross-sectional survey (2000)

Convenience sampling

N=262 Cambodian fishermen

HIV/AIDS/Sexual health,

Condom use, Alcohol use

Cambodia

Good

UNAIDs (1998) [28]

Cross-sectional survey, Qualitative in-depth interviews (year unclear)

Convenience sampling (seafarers/ fishermen),

Purposive sampling (key informants)

N=110 Vietnamese seafarers/fishermen, N=173 Key informants

HIV/AIDS knowledge, Drug use, Treatment seeking behaviour

Vietnam

Poor

Levin et al. (2010)c^ [42]

Cross-sectional survey (2005)

Convenience sampling at fishing port

N=78 Fishermen (82% Vietnamese)

Occupational health – hours, work safety attitudes

USA

Fair

Carruth et al. (2010)c^ [43]

Focus groups, sampled from study [42] participants (year unclear)

Purposive sampling

N=3 Focus groups - 15 participants (9 Male, 6 Female, Vietnamese fishers/ key informants)

Occupational health - work safety attitudes

USA

Good

Levin et al. (2016)d^ [29]

Cross-sectional baseline (2008) endline (2012) surveys in prospective quasi-experimental community trial

Consecutive, convenience sampling (baseline), convenience sampling (endline) (3 sites/interventions)

Baseline: N=227 Fishers

(97% Vietnamese, 86% Male). Endline: N=206 Fishermen (99.0% Vietnamese, 89% Male)

Occupational health – work safety attitudes, hypertension

USA

Fair

Levin et al. (2016)d^ [59]

Cross sectional survey (2008)

Consecutive, convenience sampling

N=227 Fishers (96.9% Vietnamese, 86% Male)

Occupational health - hearing loss

USA

Fair

Hansen et al. (2008) [44]

Secondary analysis of accident reporting data from 4 sources (2003)

NA, Administrative records

N=3253 Southeast Asian seafarers (668 Thai, 59 Vietnamese)

Occupational health - accidents

Denmark

Fair

Pe et al. (2005)e^ [40]

Cross-sectional household survey (2003)

Unclear (suggests every household sampled – could be census)

N=46 Sea snake bite victims (98% Fishermen)

Occupational health – sea snake bite, Treatment seeking behaviour, clinical symptoms

Myanmar

Fair/Poor

Pe et al. (2006)e^ [41]

Cross sectional household surveys (2003-4) (includes study [40])

Unclear (suggests every household sampled – could be census)

N=187 Sea snake bite victims (85% Fishermen)

Occupational health – sea snake bite, Treatment seeking behaviour, clinical symptoms

Myanmar

Fair/Poor

Doung-ngern et al. (2007) [35]

Cross-sectional survey, examination of medical records (2005)

Case series

N=28 Fishermen (4 Thai, 24 Burmese)

Occupational health – beriberi, clinical symptoms

Thailand

Fair

Kiss et al. (2015)^^ [31]

Cross-sectional survey (2011-13)

Prospective consecutive sampling in post-trafficking services

N=275 Fishermen (Trafficked, 217 Cambodian – 196 Long-haul, 55 Burmese/Short-haul, 2 Thai, 1 don’t know)**

Occupational health– hazards, injuries, Violence, Mental health

Treatment seeking behaviour

Thailand, Cambodia

Good

  1. a same study
  2. b same study
  3. c same study. Percentage Vietnamese is assumed from percentage whose primary language is Vietnamese
  4. d same study. Percentage Vietnamese is assumed from percentage whose primary language is Vietnamese
  5. e same study
  6. ^Sample is not wholly comprised of GMS fishermen/seafarers, but includes high proportion of them in the sample
  7. *disaggregated data for fishermen from baseline and end line surveys provided by Kathleen Ford (studies 113, 209)
  8. ^^Pocock and Zimmerman were co-authors in this study
  9. **sole study among peer-reviewed health papers on trafficked fishers