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KMID : 0358520080200030193
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Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
2008 Volume.20 No. 3 p.193 ~ p.204
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Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Related Factors in Firefighters of a Firestation
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Kwon Soon-Chan
Song Jae-Chul
Lee Soo-Jin
Koh Jae-Woo
Ryou Hyun-Chul
Kim In-Ah
Kim Seok-Hyeon
Kim Dae-Ho
Jung Seung-Ah
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Abstract
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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.
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KEYWORD
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Firefighters, PTSD, IES-R-K, Traumatic events, Cutoff point
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