Introduction
Working in the offshore fishing industry is a hazardous occupation. Extreme environmental conditions, the use of heavy equipment and cramped, damp conditions can all compromise health. Fishing vessels must carry a medicine's chest, the contents of which are dictated by the EEC and regulated by the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA). Even small vessels carry a detailed stock of medicines and sundries including tetanus immunogloblin and oxygen. Skippers of fishing vessels are responsible for the safe storage and administration of medicines. To date little research has been conducted into the use of medicines at sea. This project studies the use of medicines at sea as part of a wider research programme into the health and lifestyle of fishermen in Scotland. Results will be fed back to the MCA.

Specific objectives of the project were to:

• examine the use of medicines at sea from fishermen's perspective;
• investigate the skipper's knowledge of the contents of the medicine's chest;
• assess community pharmacist's input into the supply of medicines and drug information;
• aggregate practical suggestions on improving the contents and 'user-friendliness' of the medicine's chest following consultation with experienced pharmacists and interviews with skippers.

Methodology
The project is being conducted in several stages, using different techniques as appropriate: 1) A pilot study is being conducted using 6 focus groups with fishermen attending a local college for training. 2) A questionnaire is being developed and piloted in the same population (n=49) attending the college. 3) In depth information is being obtained from a pharmacist's consultation group comprising six pharmacists involved in the supply of medicines chests to discuss potential changes. 4) In depth information is being obtained from skippers (n=10) by semi-structured interview. 5) A large scale postal questionnaire is being distributed to fishermen across Scotland.

Of these, stages 3 and 4 relate specifically to use of medicines at sea. In the other stages medicines usage is covered in addition to a range of health issues.

Results
The study is ongoing and has reached stage 4. Detailed results will be presented in April. However, preliminary findings from the pilot questionnaire are that: 41% (20) of respondents had used a medicine from the chest at some time in their careers. The medicines that had been used were paracetamol, penicillin and erythromycin. Ibuprofen and aspirin were mentioned although these are not part of the current medicines chest. 16% (8) respondents had administered medicines to other people which were antibiotics, codeine, paracetamol and eye drops.

The pharmacist's consultative group made many suggestions for amending the contents of the chest including using breath-activated inhalers and ready assembled injections e.g. adrenaline minijet.

Discussion
Initial results indicate the use of medicines at sea is low and restricted to well known analgesics and antibiotics. What should be determined from interviews with skippers, is whether medicine usage is low due to low incidence of ill health, due to lack of knowledge of medicines or fear of the implications of administering medicines to other people. Further results and discussion will be available for the presentation.