Health Amongst Pilots, Becoming Aware and Solving the Problems: A Qualitative and Quantitative Narrative Analysis of Airline Pilots

Grade Level at Time of Presentation

Senior

Major

Aviation Management

Institution 25-26

Eastern Kentucky University

KY House District #

81

KY Senate District #

34

Department

Exercise and Sports Science

Abstract

Pilots of all calibers from commercial to cargo are one of the world's leading factors to economic growth, political dominance, and personal satisfaction amongst individuals, so why is there not more health opportunities for this group of workers? There is hardly any mention of a pilot's physical health, most of the articles when posted are based around a pilots mental health, with little to no concern for their physical health. As this is also an issue, has it ever been thought that the pilot’s health might have some factorization within why their mental health is depleting. This could primarily be due to the fact that airline pilots have a fear of being at risk of losing their medical license. Meanwhile others are in search of information about medical care and withhold/misrepresent their medical information to avoid documentation. Each year pilots are diagnosed with a multitude of health related issues that come with this lifestyle. Spanning from cardiovascular disease (CVD), to circadian rhythm disruption, obesity, and even diabetes. The overarching question that has guided this research is “what health related issues come with having a sedentary job, and how can pilots specifically, take more control over their health and learn better ways to live?” The research revealed that if more pilots had access to healthy living and learned about their health while in school or during training, there is a higher chance they might take their well-being more seriously, instead of hiding their issues to pass their medical examination each year. These health issues were broken down and organized into four categories: circadian disruption, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.

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Health Amongst Pilots, Becoming Aware and Solving the Problems: A Qualitative and Quantitative Narrative Analysis of Airline Pilots

Pilots of all calibers from commercial to cargo are one of the world's leading factors to economic growth, political dominance, and personal satisfaction amongst individuals, so why is there not more health opportunities for this group of workers? There is hardly any mention of a pilot's physical health, most of the articles when posted are based around a pilots mental health, with little to no concern for their physical health. As this is also an issue, has it ever been thought that the pilot’s health might have some factorization within why their mental health is depleting. This could primarily be due to the fact that airline pilots have a fear of being at risk of losing their medical license. Meanwhile others are in search of information about medical care and withhold/misrepresent their medical information to avoid documentation. Each year pilots are diagnosed with a multitude of health related issues that come with this lifestyle. Spanning from cardiovascular disease (CVD), to circadian rhythm disruption, obesity, and even diabetes. The overarching question that has guided this research is “what health related issues come with having a sedentary job, and how can pilots specifically, take more control over their health and learn better ways to live?” The research revealed that if more pilots had access to healthy living and learned about their health while in school or during training, there is a higher chance they might take their well-being more seriously, instead of hiding their issues to pass their medical examination each year. These health issues were broken down and organized into four categories: circadian disruption, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.