1.Exploring the criteria and factors affecting firefighters' resilience: A qualitative study.
Ahad HEYDARI ; Abbas OSTADTAGHIZADEH ; Ali ARDALAN ; Abbas EBADI ; Iraj MOHAMMADFAM ; Davoud KHORASANI-ZAVAREH
Chinese Journal of Traumatology 2022;25(2):107-114
PURPOSE:
Firefighters are exposed to high levels of occupational risk factors, such as safety risks, chemical, ergonomic, and physical hazards that may jeopardize their lives. To overcome these hazards, firefighters must be physically, mentally, and personally fit to work. This study aimed to explore the criteria and factors affecting firefighters' resilience based on stakeholders' experiences.
METHODS:
This qualitative study was carried out using conventional content analysis. In total, 21 face-to-face interviews were conducted by firefighters who were experienced in the field. The interviews were carried out from July 2019 to January 2020. The data were collected using 3 unstructured interviews and then resumed by 18 semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was done using Graneheim method.
RESULTS:
The participants had more than 5 years of experience in the field of search and rescue. The extracted codes through data analysis were classified into 3 main categories (individual, organizational, and social factors), 9 sub-categories (mental, physical, occupational, managerial, colleagues-related, equipment-related, environmental, community-related, and family-related factors), as well as 19 sub-sub-categories and 570 codes.
CONCLUSION
Firefighters' personality, physical condition, behavior and psychological characteristics can affect their resilience along with organizational and management factors that play significant role in people's safety. Developing a tool for assessing resilience can help decision makers to have a real depict of firefighters' job qualifications.
Firefighters/psychology*
;
Humans
;
Qualitative Research
2.Factors Related to Sleep Disorders among Male Firefighters.
Dong Kyun LIM ; Ki Ook BAEK ; In Sung CHUNG ; Mi Young LEE
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2014;26(1):11-11
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with sleep disorders in male firefighters working in a metropolitan city in South Korea. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires including the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire, Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form, Psychosocial Well-Being Index-Short Form, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, and Beck-Depression Inventory-2 as well as surveys collecting socio-demographic characteristics and work-related factors were given to 730 male firefighters. After exclusion for missing data, 657 male firefighters were included, and logistic regression analysis adjusted for the work-related factors, psychosocial factors, and general risk factors were used to assess the relationship between sleep disorders and associated factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of sleep disorders was 48.7%. Shift work (adjusted OR 1.58, 95% CI = 1.02-2.45), musculoskeletal symptoms (adjusted OR 2.89, 95% CI = 2.02-4.14), and depression (adjusted OR 7.04 95% CI = 4.03-12.30) were associated with sleep disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Musculoskeletal symptoms, shift work, and depression are associated with sleep disorders. Integrated health management is needed to promote good sleep quality among firefighters.
Depression
;
Firefighters*
;
Humans
;
Korea
;
Logistic Models
;
Male*
;
Prevalence
;
Psychology
;
Risk Factors
;
Sleep Disorders*
3.Analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder in rescuers and firefighters.
Song CI ; Yajia LAN ; Qin ZHANG ; Dinglun ZHOU ; Ji DE
Chinese Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases 2015;33(6):448-450
OBJECTIVETo investigate the occurrence and associated factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in rescuers and firefighters.
METHODSThe PTSD of 264 rescuers and firefighters who had participated in rescue was evaluated using the self-designed fireman general situation questionnaire and PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). The factors associated with the occurrence of PTSD were also analyzed.
RESULTSThe incidence rate of PTSD in the subjects was 8.3%. The PTSD rate of special service corps (12%) was significantly higher than that of other subjects (P<0.05). The incidence of PTSD was highest in the rescuers and firefighters above the third rank, but without significant differences (P>0.05). The PTSD rate of married rescuers and firefighters was significantly higher than that of unmarried subjects (P<0.05). The PTSD rate of subjects addicted to drinking was significantly higher than that of non-drinking subjects (P<0.05). Subjects with more frequent attendance were more susceptible to PTSD compared with those with less attendance.
CONCLUSIONThe incidence rate of PTSD is high in rescuers and firefighters who have attended rescues. It is necessary to implement both short-term and long-term counseling programs for stress management and intervention in order to reduce the psychological trauma after rescue and improve the mental health of rescuers and firefighters.
Firefighters ; psychology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; diagnosis ; Surveys and Questionnaires
4.Using machine learning algorithm to predict the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder among firefighters in Changsha.
Aoqian DENG ; Yanyi YANG ; Yunjing LI ; Mei HUANG ; Liang LI ; Yimei LU ; Wentao CHEN ; Rui YUAN ; Yumeng JU ; Bangshan LIU ; Yan ZHANG
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2023;48(1):84-91
OBJECTIVES:
Firefighters are prone to suffer from psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the workplace, and have a poor prognosis after PTSD. Reliable models for predicting PTSD allow for effective identification and intervention for patients with early PTSD. By collecting the psychological traits, psychological states and work situations of firefighters, this study aims to develop a machine learning algorithm with the aim of effectively and accurately identifying the onset of PTSD in firefighters, as well as detecting some important predictors of PTSD onset.
METHODS:
This study conducted a cross-sectional survey through convenient sampling of firefighters from 20 fire brigades in Changsha, which were evenly distributed across 6 districts and Changsha County, with a total of 628 firefighters. We used the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) to process data sets and used grid search to finish the parameter tuning. The predictive capability of several commonly used machine learning models was compared by 5-fold cross-validation and using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC), accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score.
RESULTS:
The random forest model achieved good performance in predicting PTSD with an average AUC score at 0.790. The mean accuracy of the model was 90.1%, with an F1 score of 0.945. The three most important predictors were perseverance, forced thinking, and reflective deep thinking, with weights of 0.165, 0.158, and 0.152, respectively. The next most important predictors were employment time, psychological power, and optimism.
CONCLUSIONS
PTSD onset prediction model for Changsha firefighters constructed by random forest has strong predictive ability, and both psychological characteristics and work situation can be used as predictors of PTSD onset risk for firefighters. In the next step of the study, validation using other large datasets is needed to ensure that the predictive models can be used in clinical setting.
Humans
;
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnosis*
;
Firefighters/psychology*
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Cross-Sectional Studies
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Algorithms
;
Machine Learning
5.A Study of Effects of Psychosocial Factors and Quality of Life on Functional Dyspepsia in Firefighters.
Seung Ho JANG ; Han Seung RYU ; Suck Chei CHOI ; Hye Jin LEE ; Sang Yeol LEE
Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine 2016;24(1):66-73
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of psychosocial factors related to functional dyspepsia(FD) and their effects on quality of life(QOL) in firefighters. METHODS: This study examined data collected from 1,217 firefighters. We measured psychological symptoms by Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire(GAD-7), Korean Occupational Stress Scale(KOSS), Ways of Coping checklist(WCCL), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale(RSES) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale abbreviated version(WHOQOL-BREF). Chi-square test, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation test, logistic regression analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were used as statistical analysis methods. RESULTS: For the group with FD, the male participants showed significantly higher frequency(p=0.006) compared to the female participants. The group with FD had higher scores for depressive symptoms(p<.001), anxiety (p<.001), and occupational stress(p<.001), and did lower scores for self-esteem(p=.008), quality of life(p<.001) than those without FD. The FD risk was higher in the following KOSS subcategories: job demand(OR 1.94, 95% CI : 1.29-2.93), lack of reward(OR 2.47, 95% CI : 1.61-3.81), and occupational climate(OR 1.51, 95% CI : 1.01-2.24). In the hierarchical regression analysis, QOL was best predicted by depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and occupational stress. Three predictive variables above accounts for 42.0% variance explained of total variance. CONCLUSIONS: The psychosocial factors showed significant effects on FD, and predictive variables for QOL were identified based on regression analysis. The results suggest that the psychiatric approach should be accompanied with medical approach in future FD assessment.
Anxiety
;
Anxiety Disorders
;
Depression
;
Dyspepsia*
;
Female
;
Firefighters*
;
Humans
;
Logistic Models
;
Male
;
Psychology*
;
Quality of Life*
;
World Health Organization
6.Psychological Factors Influence the Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Their Effect on Quality of Life among Firefighters in South Korea.
Seung Ho JANG ; Han Seung RYU ; Suck Chei CHOI ; Sang Yeol LEE
Psychiatry Investigation 2017;14(4):434-440
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of psychological factors that are related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and their effects on the quality of life (QOL) of firefighters in South Korea. METHODS: This study examined data collected from 1217 firefighters in South Korea. After identifying firefighters with IBS according to the Rome III diagnostic criteria for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs), we collected demographic data and psychological variables through self-administered questionnaires. In order to observe the distribution of the high-risk group in the Korean occupational stress scale (KOSS) subcategories, we conducted logistic multiple linear regression. The correlations between psychological factors and QOL were analyzed and we performed a stepwise regression analysis. RESULTS: The groups (firefighters with and without IBS) showed differences by sex, working period, task, working pattern, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7, Korean Occupational Stress Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF. IBS risk was higher in the following KOSS subcategories: job demand (OR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.11–2.89), interpersonal conflict (OR 2.21, 95% CI: 1.25–4.33), organizational system (OR 1.87, 95% CI: 0.58–3.30), and lack of reward (OR 2.39, 95% CI: 1.08–5.26). The final regression model explained 42.6% of the variance in overall quality of life. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that a number of psychological factors increase the likelihood of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and affect QOL. Therefore, when diagnosing IBS in the future, mental health aspects should be considered in addition to physical health.
Anxiety Disorders
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Depression
;
Firefighters*
;
Gastrointestinal Diseases
;
Humans
;
Irritable Bowel Syndrome*
;
Korea*
;
Linear Models
;
Mental Health
;
Psychology*
;
Quality of Life*
;
Reward
;
World Health Organization
7.Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory as related factor for post traumatic stress disorder symptoms according to job stress level in experienced firefighters: 5-year study.
In Sung CHUNG ; Mi Young LEE ; Sung Won JUNG ; Chang Wook NAM
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2015;27(1):16-
OBJECTIVES: As first responders to an increasing number of natural and manmade disasters, active-duty firefighters are at increased risk for physical and psychiatric impairment as reflected by high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because little is known about related factor with PTSD according to job stress level among firefighters, we assessed utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) using 5-year medical surveillance. METHODS: Data were analyzed from 185 male firefighters without psychiatric disease history and who at assessments in 2006 and 2011 completed all questionnaires on personal behaviors (including exercise, drinking and smoking habits) and job history (including job duration and department). MMPI, Events Scale-Revised-Korean version (IES-R-K) and Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form (KOSS-SF) were used to screen for personality trait, PTSD symptom presence and job stress level, respectively. IES-R-K subgroups were compared using two-sample t- and chi2 tests, and factors influencing IES-R-K according to KOSS-SF were determined using uni- and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Mean age and job duration were higher in PTSD-positive than negative groups. In multivariate analysis, increased PTSD risk was associated with: job duration (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.064, 95 % CI 1.012-1.118) for firefighters overall; masculinity-femininity (OR = 5.304, 95 % CI 1.191-23.624) and job duration (OR = 1.126, 95 % CI 1.003-1.265) for lower job stress level; and social introversion (OR = 3.727, 95 % CI 1.096-12.673) for higher job stress level. CONCLUSIONS: MMPI relates with PTSD according to job stress level among experienced firefighters. Masculinity-femininity and social introversion were the strongest related factor for PTSD symptom development in low and high job stress levels, respectively.
Disasters
;
Drinking
;
Firefighters*
;
Humans
;
Introversion (Psychology)
;
Logistic Models
;
Male
;
Minnesota*
;
MMPI*
;
Multivariate Analysis
;
Smoke
;
Smoking
;
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
;
Stress Disorders, Traumatic*