At work and play in a hazardous environment: injuries aboard a deployed U.S. Navy aircraft carrier

A deployed U.S. Navy aircraft carrier is a hazardous environment where work and recreation intermingle. Injuries causing time lost from assigned duties may impact aviation safety and operational readiness. This descriptive study examines injuries sustained on the flight deck, in the hangar bay, or in the gym of a deployed aircraft carrier, focusing on those injuries resulting in lost duty days.

Injuries recorded by the ship's medical department were analyzed, relating lost duty injuries to the following parameters: division, rank, time of day, location of injury event, whether injury was job-related or recreational, type of recreational activity, and mechanism, type, and anatomic site of injury.

During a 6-mo deployment, 335 injuries occurred in the shipboard locations studied. More than one-third (36%) of these injuries resulted in lost duty time, accounting for 768 man-days of lost duty during the deployment. Recreational injuries represented 19% of all injuries, but 25% of all lost duty injuries, a statistically significant contribution to lost duty time when compared to job-related injuries (p = 0.04). The sports of basketball, volleyball, and football were more likely than other recreational activities to cause injuries resulting in lost duty time (p = 0.01). Musculoskeletal injuries, particularly injuries involving the lower extremity, neck, and back, were also associated with increased risk of lost duty time (p < 0.001).

Although recreational injuries are less frequent than job-related injuries in the study population, they contribute disproportionately to lost duty time. Injury prevention in similar environments should address recreational as well as work-related activities.