Healthcare avoidance and stress risks in the New Zealand population of pilots and air traffic controllers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Aviation at Massey University, Manawatū School of Aviation, New Zealand

Abstract

This study was initiated to understand if the population of pilots and ATCOs in New Zealand engage in healthcare avoidance behaviours due to a fear of the impact upon their aviation medical certificate. For this question, this study has, in part, sought to make a comparison to the Healthcare Avoidance study (HCA) by Hoffman et al (2022). However, since this study’s overall objective is to discover to what degree the aviation system in New Zealand is exposed to this behaviour, it is the first study which includes ATCOs into the survey population. The reasoning is that because ATCOs are also required to hold an aviation medical certificate and are also integral to aviation system safety. As an extension to the HCA study outcomes, a question to do with avoidance behaviours directly associated with mental health was included to gain insight specifically around this highly safety sensitive topic. Since the avoidance of healthcare may be associated with concerns regarding a declining health issue, a study objective was to find if the population is exposed to cumulative stressors which may predict poor health outcomes.