Social Work Study On Improving The Resilience Of Seafarers Under The COVID-19 Pandemic

In early 2020,COVID-19 spread around the world.At present,the pandemic situation in various countries is still precarious,and the pandemic prevention and control measures are normalized in China.Affected by the relevant containment and quarantine measures,seafarers have encountered problems concerning institutional restrictions,material support,increased workload,emotional adjustment and so on.Some seafarers may face contract extensions,difficulty in shift changes and restrictions on ashore activities,and are unable to get proper physical and mental adjustment,which adds to workload and physical and mental pressure to some extent.This is a practical research on approaches to improve seafarers’ resilience using professional social work methods.From the perspective of social work,taking seafarers as objects,the author conducts a survey based on questionnaires and semi-structured interviews aimed at an in-depth understanding of the predicament and resilience of seafarers under the COVID-19 pandemic,and examines how seafarers cope with problems and challenges in the face of pandemic adversity,and further explores the protective factors of resilience.Firstly,seafarers with less resilience to stress are selected through a questionnaire survey;Secondly,the scores of self-efficacy,internal protective factors and external support are analyzed and semi-structured interviews are conducted;Finally,in consideration of the survey and interview results,seafarers’ willingness,positions onboard and boarding and disembarking time,three seafarers are selected to receive case work services.Under the guidance of theories of strengths perspective and social support,the resilience of seafarers are improved through case work methods.Through the questionnaire survey,it is found that the overall resilience of seafarers is at a medium level.Seafarers from one-child families are significantly from those from multiple-children families in respect of self-efficacy and internal advantage factors.Differences in education level,position and dispatch form can lead to significant differences in self-efficacy,internal advantage factors and external support.Marital status can also greatly affect self-efficacy and external support.In view of the problems and actual needs of three types of seafarers,tailored solutions are designed to help seafarers improve their resilience to better face the work and life on board under the pandemic,and so as to improve their performance at work and the quality of their life.Through process evaluation and result evaluation of the services,it is found that case work has a certain effect on the improvement of seafarers’ resilience.Finally,through a summary and reflection on the theories applied in and the practice of this study,the dissertation discusses its significance to the practice of social work,and provides social workers with experience in intervening in seafarer groups and improving their resilience,and also aims to improve China’s social work service mode targeting seafarers and improve practical researches in relevant fields.