Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Original Article

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Related Factors in Male Firefighters in a Metropolitan City: Deuk Yong Shin, Man Joong Jeon, Joon Sakong; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012;24(4):397-409. Published online December 31, 2012; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2012.24.4.397

OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted in order to evaluate the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related factors in male firefighters in Daegu, Korea.
METHODS
A total of 1,261 firefighters from fire stations in Daegu were the subjects of this study. Each firefighter completed a questionnaire on general and occupational matters, experience of traumatic events, and impact of event scale (IES). The IES questionnaire was administered to subjects in order to determine the high risk group for PTSD. We calculated the IES score and determined that an individual was abnormal if the IES score was over 26.
RESULTS
The average IES score of the firefighters was 11.0+/-14.3, and the prevalence of high risk firefighters with PTSD was 15.1%. It was found that 40 years of age, fire sergeant, and emergency medical service personnel showed higher prevalence of PTSD than other groups. The most experienced event among traumatic events was 'witness death of victims or patients'. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis for the high risk PTSD group showed that fire sergeant (OR=2.28, 95% CI: 1.28~4.06), fire lieutenant (OR=2.47, 95% CI: 1.14~5.37), fire captain (OR=2.88, 95% CI: 1.11~7.45), firefighting department (OR=2.04, 95% CI: 1.00~4.17), emergency medical service personnel (OR=3.68, 95% CI: 1.47~9.23), total frequency of traumatic events experienced (OR=1.01, 95% CI: 1.00~1.02), and total type of traumatic event experienced (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.25~1.46) were significant variables with regards to the reference group (fire fighter and administration department).
CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that the prevalence of PTSD in firefighters is higher than that in the general population, and fire sergeant, fire lieutenant, fire captain, emergency medical service personnel, firefighting department, total frequency of traumatic events experienced, and total type of traumatic event experienced were significant variables for the PTSD high risk group.

Citations

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Jeong Ah Kim, Soo Yeon Song, Wonjeong Jeong, Jae Kwan Jun
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John Langtry, Marcin Owczarek, Donal McAteer, Laurence Taggart, Christina Gleeson, Catherine Walshe, Mark Shevlin
European Journal of Psychotraumatology.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
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Insung Jo, Songhee Lee, Gyhye Sung, Minkyoung Kim, Sanghyuk Lee, Jooeon Park, Kangsoo Lee
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.2018; 91(1): 117. CrossRef
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BMJ Open.2016; 6(3): e009937. CrossRef
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Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society.2013; 14(5): 2225. CrossRef

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Original Article

PTSD and Related Factors among Dispatched Firefighters to Rescue Sites after the Great Japanese Earthquake (Running head: Dispatched Firefighters' PTSD): Mihyun Yang, Eunil Lee, Jae Wook Choi, Hae Joon Kim; Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012;24(2):167-179. Published online June 30, 2012; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2012.24.2.167

Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
This study aims to investigate the risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its related factors among firefighters dispatched to the rescue sites after the Great Japanese Earthquake in 2011.
METHODS
Among 104 male firefighters dispatched to rescue sites after the Great Japanese Earthquake, 73 firefighters were assessed. The 73 firefighters completed questionnaires, which include general characteristics, an impact of event scale-revised Korean version (IES-R-K), a coping checklist, a scale of perceived social support, and a post-traumatic stress diagnostic scale (PDS). The data was analyzed to find factors related to PTSD risk.
RESULTS
The mean value of age and work tenure in this study were 38.6 years (SD=5.7) and 11.6 years (SD=6.0), respectively. The number and rate of the PTSD high-risk group in dispatched firefighters in this study was 7 cases and 9.6% using IES-R-K, with an over 25-point cutoff score. The mean rank of tenure, 53.5 in the PTSD high-risk group (n=7), was significantly higher than that of 32.2 in the PTSD low-risk group (n=66). The mean rank of assessable support, 20.2 in the PTSD high-risk group was significantly lower than that of 38.7 in the PTSD low-risk group. In logistic analysis of model 1 including PDS in independent variables, were associated with being a PTSD high-risk group as in the following: higher PDS score (OR 2.18, 95% CI: 1.07~4.46), longer tenure (OR 3.42, 95% CI: 1.01~11.89), more using coping method (OR 1.35, 95% CI: 1.00~1.81), and lower perceptions of social support (OR 0.84, 95% CI: 0.72~0.97). In logistic analysis of model 2 without PDS in independent variables, more using coping method (OR 1.14, 95% CI: 1.01~1.28) and lower perceptions of social support (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91~0.98) were associated with being a PTSD high-risk group.
CONCLUSION
The PTSD high-risk group in dispatched firefighters indicated that their odds ratios were increased when they used more coping methods under specific stress conditions and had lower perceptions of social support. Therefore, for those, who might be dispatched to overseas, the psychological support approach should be considered to produce effective coping methods against traumatic events and to be aware of abundant resources for social support regarding the problem.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Changes in the Levels of Stress Perception, Experiencing Depressive Symptoms and Health-Related Quality of Life of Residents after the 2016 Gyeongju Earthquake
Young Ran Han, Yeo Won Jeong, Sang Kyu Kim, Han Seok Jeong
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(2): 540. CrossRef
Medical litigation experience of the victim of medical accident: a qualitative case study
Jeehee Pyo, Minsu Ock, Young-Joo Han
International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
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Ji Young Song, Kyoung-Sook Jeong, Kyeong-sook Choi, Min-gi Kim, Yeon-Soon Ahn
Workplace Health & Safety.2018; 66(8): 393. CrossRef
Stressors of Korean Disaster Relief Team Members during the Nepal Earthquake Dispatch: a Consensual Qualitative Research Analysis
Kangeui Lee, So Hee Lee, Taejin Park, Ji-yeon Lee
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2017; 32(3): 507. CrossRef
Duty-related incidental stress and the coping method in new firefighters
Mi-Lye Baek
The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services.2014; 18(3): 53. CrossRef

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