This project aims to describe the perceptions Australian urban professional firefighters have towards their levels of everyday work stress and the types of situations they find most stressful. It also investigates associations between firefighters’ stress levels and health-related quality of life.
A prospective cohort study of 592 firefighters were surveyed on two occasions. Descriptive statistics were applied to responses to the SF-12 V2 Health Survey and questions about work stress. A linear mixed model tested for association between stress and mental health and qualitative analysis of responses to an open ended question about stressors was also undertaken.
The results of the study showed that the mean age of respondents was 44 years and the average length of service 17 years. Nearly 60% rated their job as either “not at all stressful” or “not very stressful”. The most stressful type of callout was to motor vehicle accidents. The most common factors that increased stress were reports of persons injured and dealing with night shifts. The mean score for the mental health component of the SF-12 (MCS-12) was 52.5 (SD=7.5). MCS-12 scores decreased as the level of perceived work stress increased (p<0.0001). There was a correlation between work stress and length of employment.
From the results it has been concluded that 40% of the firefighters in our sample saw their jobs as stressful. Researches observed a strong association between higher stress levels and poorer mental health and a positive correlation between levels of work stress and years of experience. Identifying firefighters at risk of distress and recognising contributing factors could help minimise negative health consequences associated with job-related stress.