The studies summarised in this document were designed to meet the need for up-to-date information about offshore work conditions, and their health and safety implications, and to address some of the methodological limitations of earlier work:

* A general review of psychosocial aspects of work and health in the North Sea oil and gas industry covering work published up to 1996.
* A large-scale survey (carried out in 1995-6) of psychosocial aspects of the offshore work environment in relation to a range of health and safety outcomes.
* A detailed investigation of the effects of different patterns of shift rotation (comparing those which do, or do not, impose a mid-tour day/night shift change) on sleep, mood and performance measured repeatedly across the two-week offshore work cycle.
* A review of relevant literature and data which address the issue of 3-3 working (as compared with the more usual 2-2 work/leave cycles), with particular reference to the attitudes of offshore personnel and their spouses to the longer work/leave cycle.
* Analyses based on archival data relating to offshore accidents and injuries, focussing on the effects of length of tour and hours into shift in relation to accident severity.
* An analysis of the frequency and nature of sickbay consultations in relation to personal and job-related factors, including age, job type, job level and shift work.
* Drawing on findings from a parallel survey of onshore oil and gas processing sites, a comparison of offshore and onshore environments, and their impact on health and safety.
* A preview of findings from a five-years follow-up study of the 1995-6 survey participants.