Mental Well-Being during COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study of Fly-In Fly-Out Workers in the Mining Industry in Australia

Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare, Elizabeth Thomas, Jacquita S. Affandi, Myles Schammer, Paul Brown, Matthew Pilbeam, Chris Harris, Chris Ellison, Dominika Kwasnicka, Daniel Powell, Christopher M. Reid and Suzanne Robinson
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Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare: Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley 6102, Australia
Elizabeth Thomas: Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley 6102, Australia
Jacquita S. Affandi: Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley 6102, Australia
Myles Schammer: Mineral Resources Limited, Applecross 6153, Australia
Paul Brown: Mineral Resources Limited, Applecross 6153, Australia
Matthew Pilbeam: Mineral Resources Limited, Applecross 6153, Australia
Chris Harris: Mineral Resources Limited, Applecross 6153, Australia
Chris Ellison: Mineral Resources Limited, Applecross 6153, Australia
Dominika Kwasnicka: Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Aleksandra Ostrowskiego, 53-238 Wroclaw, Poland
Daniel Powell: Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK
Christopher M. Reid: Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley 6102, Australia
Suzanne Robinson: Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley 6102, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has devastated the world, and its mental health impact has been recognized in the general population. However, little is known about the mental health impact of COVID-19 on fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers, who are flown to temporarily stay and work in remote areas, during this pandemic. This study examined the mental well-being of FIFO workers in the mining industry during COVID-19 restrictions in Western Australia. An online survey was conducted between May to November 2020 among ( N = 842) FIFO workers who underwent COVID-19 screening at a large mining company in Western Australia. The mental well-being score among workers was higher than population norms. One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc tests showed significant differences in mental well-being by age, being placed under travel quarantine, undertaking self-isolation, impact of social distance guidelines, and experience of COVID-19 related symptoms. Multiple linear regression analysis showed workers who were younger, placed under travel quarantine and experienced two or more COVID-19 related symptoms were more likely to have worse mental well-being. Acknowledging the negative emotions and distress experiences among the vulnerable groups could help in providing suitable support to help lessen these negative experiences in FIFO workers.

Keywords: COVID-19; fly-in fly-out; FIFO; mental well-being; mental health; mining; Australia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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