Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Related Factors in Firefighters of a Firestation

Soon Chan Kwon; Jaechul Song; Soo Jin Lee; Inah Kim; Jaewoo Koh; Hyunchul Ryou; Seok Hyun Kim; Daeho Kim; Seung Ah Jung

doi:10.35371/kjoem.2008.20.3.193

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Original Article Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Related Factors in Firefighters of a Firestation: Soon Chan Kwon, Jaechul Song, Soo Jin Lee, Inah Kim, Jaewoo Koh, Hyunchul Ryou, Seok Hyun Kim, Daeho Kim, Seung Ah Jung; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/kjoem.2008.20.3.193
Published online: September 30, 2008

¹Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Korea. jsong@hanyang.ac.kr

²Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Korea.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the factors related with posttraumatic symptoms and to estimate the prevalence of posttraumatic disorder of urban male firefighters.
METHODS
From a study sample comprising 260 male firefighters from one fire station, the responses from 146 who had experienced one or more traumatic events, responded to the 'Impact of Event Scale-Revised Korean version' (IES-R-K) and didn't show any evidence of depression were analyzed. We surveyed the firefighters using a self-administered questionnaire including general characteristics, job-related characteristics, IES-R-K, and a 'Firefighters and paramedics' incident stressor'.
RESULTS
The mean value of IES-R-K in this study was 11.3 and it was higher in the married firefighters than in the unmarried firefighters (p=0.005) and in the 24-hr shift workers than in the ordinary day shift workers (p=0.032). The frequency of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of the firefighters in this study using IES-R-K was 13.7%, with a cutoff point of 24/25. The overall number of experiences of 25 traumatic events was larger in emergency medical personnel and rescue workers than in other work functions (p=0.000).
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of PTSD symptoms in firefighters was estimated to 13.7% using IES-RK and was higher than the prevalence of PTSD in the general population. A program to manage the mental health and provide early detection for mental illness for firefighters is needed.

Keywords: Firefighters;PTSD;IES-R-K;Traumatic events;Cutoff point

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