A Comparison of the Actual and Recommended Diving Profiles of Dominican Republic Diver Fishermen
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Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Summer 2021 A Comparison of the Actual and Recommended Diving Profiles of Dominican Republic Diver Fishermen Kasey Mallon Andrews Western Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the Kinesiology Commons Recommended Citation Mallon Andrews, Kasey, "A Comparison of the Actual and Recommended Diving Profiles of Dominican Republic Diver Fishermen" (2021). WWU Graduate School Collection. 1052. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/1052 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Comparison of the Actual and Recommended Diving Profiles of Dominican Republic Diver Fishermen By Kasey Mallon Andrews Accepted in Partial Completion of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science ADVISORY COMMITTEE Dr. Lorrie Brilla, Chair Dr. David Suprak Dr. Harsh Buddhadev GRADUATE SCHOOL David Patrick, Dean Master’s Thesis In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Western Washington University, I grant to Western Washington University the non-exclusive royalty-free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display the thesis in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by WWU. I represent and warrant this is my original work and does not infringe or violate any rights of others. I warrant that I have obtained written permissions from the owner of any third party copyrighted material included in these files. 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Signature: Kasey Mallon Andrews Date: July 19th, 2021 A Comparison of the Actual and Recommended Diving Profiles of Dominican Republic Diver Fishermen A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Western Washington University In Partial Completion of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science By Kasey Mallon Andrews July 2021 Abstract Decompression stops upon ascent of a dive help to decrease the likelihood of developing decompression sickness in divers. The purpose of this study was to compare the actual versus the recommended dive profiles of compressor fishermen in the Dominican Republic to explore the occupational risk associated with decompression sickness that these fishermen endure. For this study, 10 male diver fishermen from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic self-reported their diving profiles including the dive depth, the time spent at that specific depth, the duration of ascent, and the surface interval between repeat dives, for each dive conducted in a single workday. The depth and duration of each dive was then entered into V-Planner dive decompression planning software to calculate the decompression needed for safe diving profiles. Each dive was graphed using depth and time, and the area under the curve for the actual and recommended diving profiles was calculated. The total dive time (294.3 ± 101.9 min actual and 524.7 ± 170.57 min recommended), total decompression time (10.4 ± 3.75 min actual and 244.4 ± 153.36 min recommended), and the area under the curve (16204.7 ± 5609.6 depth*time actual and 21368.1 ± 9030.8 depth*time recommended) between the actual and recommended diving profiles were significantly different (p=0.001). Analysis of the effect size for these differences showed a large effect size for the diving time (d=1.556) and for the decompression time (d=2.046), and medium effect size for area under the curve (d=0.676). The results of this study indicate that there is a significant reduction in decompression time in the actual diving profiles of fishermen compared to a safe diving profile, putting the divers at a risk of developing decompression sickness. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank the faculty of the Kinesiology department at Western Washington University for their support, encouragement, and guidance throughout this process. A huge thank you to my committee members, Dr. Lorrie Brilla, Dr. Harsh Buddhadev, and Dr. Dave Suprak, whom have helped to shape me into a curious, ambitious, and driven researcher and academic. Thank you to my sister, Dr. Kyrstin Mallon Andrews, who inspired this project and provided endless advice and thesis edits throughout my graduate degree. I would not be the researcher I am today without the brilliant and curious minds of my entire cohort. Thank you to my peers who made academia exciting and research so much fun. I am immensely grateful for all the academics in my life and the impact that they will have on my future endeavors. I would not have accomplished all that I have at Western Washington University without the support of my family and friends. Thank you to my parents for encouraging me to go back to school for a Master’s degree and providing endless love and support throughout the entire process. Thank you to all my friends and significant other who read my thesis without a Master’s degree in Kinesiology, who problem solved with me in difficult times, and who continued to provide support and encouragement in every aspect of my life. I am so lucy to have such a loyal and compassionate community behind me. I am so grateful for my incredible support system who constantly push me beyond what I believe I am capable of. v Table of Contents Abstract...........................................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................v List of Tables and Figures............................................................................................................viii Introduction......................................................................................................................................1 Methods............................................................................................................................................4 Participants...........................................................................................................................4 Experimental Procedure ......................................................................................................5 Statistical Analysis...............................................................................................................6 Results..............................................................................................................................................6 Discussion........................................................................................................................................8 References......................................................................................................................................19 Review of Pertinent Literature.......................................................................................................24 Introduction........................................................................................................................24 Diving Methods..................................................................................................................26 Injuries...............................................................................................................................29 Decompression Illness.......................................................................................................32 Socio-economic and Environmental Pressures.................................................................35 Risk Factors.......................................................................................................................37 Prevention..........................................................................................................................39 Treatment...........................................................................................................................41 Rationale for Return to work.............................................................................................44 Summary............................................................................................................................44 vi References .....................................................................................................................................46 Appendices.....................................................................................................................................51 vii List of Tables and Figures Table 1. Participant demographics………………………………………………...……………...6 Figure 1. Total dive time for actual and recommended diving profiles……………………..……8 Table 2. Average depth,