Leggat, Peter, and Putland, John (2004) Medical standards for flight attendants? Journal of the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine, 1 (1). pp. 12-16.

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Abstract

Hundreds of thousands of cabin crew or flight attendants around the world p1ay a vital role as the public interface of airlines. QANTAS alone employs more than 6000 flight attendants. Flight attendants play a much greater role than simply offering comfort to the flying public, particularly in the area of safety. Their duties are in fact quite wide and varied. In addition, in recent years, the demographics of flight attendants have changed to include increased numbers of females on international routes and of males on domestic services, older age groups (as the average career span of a female flight attendant has increased from 18 months to 15 years), and pregnant crew. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) currently does not require flight attendants to meet any specific medical standards and it also appears that airline medical sections largely determine the scope and periodicity of non-pilot medical assessments, such as those required for flight attendants. (The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) did canvass the introduction of a certification program for flight attendants in 2002, however, the only support base came from the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia and the proposal lapsed). Such medical assessments would need to cover both pre-employment and periodic medical examinations. Masters et al suggest that such medical assessments need not be as stringent as they are for pilots, but should be cognisant of the need to maintain safety in flight.

Item ID:	6704
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1449-3764
Keywords:	flight attendants; cccupational health; screening; travel medicine
Additional Information:	This article does not have an abstract. The first paragraph of the Introduction is displayed as the abstract.
Date Deposited:	14 Feb 2010 22:42
FoR Codes:	11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111711 Health Information Systems (incl Surveillance) @ 100%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920404 Disease Distribution and Transmission (incl. Surveillance and Response) @ 100%
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