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Land and Sea Connection: The East Coast Fishery Closure, Unemployment and Health

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Abstract

The closure of the east coast fishery in Canada in 1992 has affected the lives of individuals and communities both directly and indirectly, causing massive unemployment. Previous research indicates that unemployment negatively affects people’s health and other aspects of family functioning. This study assesses the perceived effects of unemployment on the individuals’ health, and compares the psychological well-being of the employed and that of the unemployed individuals in the same communities affected by the cod moratorium.

The sample consisted of 681 individuals, 16 years of age and older from randomly selected households. They were individually interviewed using structured questionnaires. The GHQ-28 with a high test-retest coefficient (0.90) and split-half reliability (0.92) was used to measure the psychological well-being.

The unemployed reported more stress, boredom, high level of uncertainty, less satisfaction with themselves, their life, their educational level, income and health. Implications for health promotion, policy formulation and future research are put forward.

Résumé

La fermeture de la pêche sur la côte est canadienne, en 1992, a touché directement et indirectement la vie des individus et des communautés, causant un chômage massif. Des recherches menées antérieurement montrent que le chômage mine la santé et d’autres aspects de la vie familiale. Cette étude vise à: 1) évaluer les effets perçus du chômage sur la santé des gens; 2) comparer le bien-être psychologique des travailleurs et des chômeurs vivant dans les mêmes communautés touchées par le moratoire sur la pêche à la morue.

L’échantillon se composait de 681 individus, âgés de 16 ans et plus et provenant de ménages choisis au hasard. Ils ont été interviewés individuellement à l’aide de questionnaires dirigés. Le GHQ-28, qui présente une constance test-retest (0,90) et une corrélation d’homogénéité (0,92) élevées, a été utilisé pour mesurer le bien-être psychologique.

Les chômeurs ont déclaré ressentir plus de stress et d’ennui, beaucoup d’incertitude et moins de satisfaction par rapport à eux-mêmes, à leur vie, à leur niveau de scolarité, à leur revenu et à leur santé. On présente les répercussions de ces phénomènes sur la promotion de la santé, la formulation de politiques et l’avenir de la recherche.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NF, A1B 3V6, Canada

    Lan T. Gien RN, PhD (Professor)

Authors
  1. Lan T. Gien RN, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lan T. Gien RN, PhD.

Additional information

This study is part of the larger interdisciplinary research project entitled “Sustainability in a changing cold ocean coastal environment”, funded by Environment Canada through the Green plan and administered by the three academic councils: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

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Gien, L.T. Land and Sea Connection: The East Coast Fishery Closure, Unemployment and Health. Can J Public Health 91, 121–124 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404926

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404926

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