A recent summit with representatives from across aviation met to discuss an important question: why are certain pilots not getting the mental healthcare they apparently need?
Self-Reported Health Care Avoidance Behavior in U.S. Military Pilots Related to Fear for Loss of Flying Status
There were 72% of military pilots who reported a history of health care avoidance behavior, and no statistical difference was found between age groups, gender, and military pilot types. There were 55.5% of pilots who reported a history of seeking informal medical care, 33.7% of pilots who have flown despite a new symptom they felt required medical evaluation, 42.5% of pilots who reported withholding information on aeromedical screening, and 11.4% of pilots who reported a history of undisclosed prescription medication use.
Pilots’ Healthcare Seeking Anxiety When Experiencing Chest Pain
When survey participants were asked if they have ‘‘ever felt worried about seeking medical care due to concern for their career or hobby,’’ 78.63% of pilots answered ‘‘yes,’’ compared with 28.7% of non-pilot controls. There were differences in demographics between our pilot and non-pilot cohort, but similar trends were seen after subgroup analysis.
Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts: a cross-sectional descriptive study via anonymous web-based survey
Hundreds of pilots currently flying are managing depressive symptoms perhaps without the possibility of treatment due to the fear of negative career impacts. This study found 233 (12.6%) airline pilots meeting depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots reporting having suicidal thoughts.
Healthcare related aversion and care seeking patterns of female aviators in the United States
Healthcare Avoidance in Aircraft Pilots Due to Concern for Aeromedical Certificate Loss
A total of 3765 pilots were included in the analysis. There were 56.1% of pilots who reported a history of healthcare avoidance behavior due fear for losing their aeromedical certificate. There were 45.7% who sought informal medical care and 26.8% who misrepresented/withheld information on a written healthcare questionnaire for fear of aeromedical certificate loss.
Airplane pilot mental health and suicidal thoughts: a cross-sectional descriptive study via anonymous web-based survey
Hundreds of pilots currently flying are managing depressive symptoms perhaps without the possibility of treatment due to the fear of negative career impacts. This study found 233 (12.6%) airline pilots meeting depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots reporting having suicidal thoughts.