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Filipino seafarers often delay or avoid medical care for fear of retaliation from employers

Filipino seafarers often delay or avoid medical care for fear of retaliation from employers

Seafarer Times, May 5, 2022

From December 2016 to October 2017, researcher Shannon Guillot-Wright from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston gathered data during interviews and from observations, field notes and photovoice. the seafarers fear that seeking medical attention for an injury or illness will cause them to be viewed as unhealthy and lead to the loss of employment. “In this way, companies penalize seafarers for accessing the protections guaranteed to them despite having contractual rights,” Guillot-Wright writes.