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Abstract Background The Gulf of Guinea, renowned for its challenging maritime conditions, underscores the critical role of telemedicine in safeguarding the welfare of seafarers. Nigeria, a prominent maritime actor, necessitates a comprehensive inquiry into seafarers’ awareness, perceptions, and access to telemedicine services as it is an emerging field and a recent telemedicine centre has been built by the Nigerian government. This research aimed to assess the knowledge and perception levels of telemedicine among Nigerian maritime workers; and secondly, to determine the availability and utilization of telemedicine services within the Gulf of Guinea’s maritime zones. Telemedicine in maritime health is guided by the policies from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The ILO and IMO, through Resolution MSC.421(98), has issued guidelines for telemedicine in maritime health, advocating for its integration to address health emergencies effectively. Methods This is a quantitative cross-sectional design, 300 maritime workers participated evenly across Nigeria’s four maritime zones, employing systematic random sampling. Data were collected via a structured survey instrument, with descriptive statistics revealing insights into participants’ telemedicine awareness, knowledge, and perceptions. Results Preliminary findings showed substantial telemedicine awareness among respondents (72%), but only 45% received training, a statistically significant gap (χ² = 24.63, p 0.001). Telemedicine availability varied across zones, with Central maritime zone at 57% and Northern maritime Zone at 29%. Discussion and conclusion This study findings highlights the need for targeted educational and training initiatives aimed at augmenting awareness and proficiency in telemedicine among Nigerian maritime workers. Telemedicine service disparities underscore the need for equitable access.
Uraih et al. (Mon,) studied this question.