Diversity, preventive work and education-matters of health and well-being in firefighter discourse.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse how recurrent health hindrance themes in the firefighter discourse, identified by firefighters themselves, relate to a set of policies about diversity, preventive work and education of firefighters. The intention is further to discuss the implications of these policy initiatives and the resistance against them in terms of firefighters' health and well-being at work. Method: Firefighters from three different rescue stations in Sweden, participated in either a focus group discussion or individual interviews. Different themes in firefighter discourse that were described as hindrances to the health and well-being of firefighters were identified. A strategic sample of policy documents that relate to the very same themes was also chosen for analysis and here we combined critical discourse analysis (CDA) with critical policy analysis. Results: The health hindrance themes regarding diversity, preventive work and education that firefighters identified have in common that they relate to changes in work culture and the firefighter profession. Conclusion: In conclusion, we argue that the most important challenge for the rescue service to tackle in the future, is how to transform firefighting to be more inclusive and yet maintaining the good health and well-being that exists among the vast majority of today's firefighters.

Experiences of critical incidents among female and male firefighters.

BACKGROUND: A critical incident is defined as an event stressful enough to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of an individual. Firefighters are frequently exposed to critical incidents that might have consequences for individuals and their performance in organization. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe experiences of critical incidents among female and male Swedish firefighters. METHOD: In all 180 participants (16 women, 164 men) who had been involved in up to 25 critical incidents during the last year responded to a survey describing critical incidents experienced in the past year. A qualitative content analysis identified several areas for improvement in firefighters' working conditions. RESULTS: Female firefighters were terse in describing their experiences, while the men described their experiences of critical events more vividly. The critical incidents described by the firefighters concerned such overwhelming situations as traffic accidents, huge fires, and other fatal incidents such as drownings and suicides. Risk of delay due to lack of equipment training and lack of medical education was mentioned. Lack of resources and organizational problems was mentioned as causing risks of failure. Several firefighters expressed frustration over being assaulted and threatened, or exposed to other kinds of violence. Not knowing how close, physically or mentally, one can get to people during ongoing rescue can lead to unsuccessful operations. CONCLUSIONS: Gender patterns should always be taken into account, making it possible for all firefighters to express and reflect on existentially tough experiences. Education needs to focus more on medical and mental health issues. Firefighters were sometimes exposed to the difficult challenge of violence and assault during rescue operations. The complexity of this problem needs to be highlighted, not only in firefighter organizations, but also in society in general.

Caring for traffic accident victims: the stories of nine male police officers.

Psychological strain due to the work environment is common, especially in those occupations which involve working in critical situations. Working as a police officer seems to increase the risk of psychological problems such as symptoms of stress and post traumatic stress disorders. The aim of this study was to describe male police officers' experiences of traumatic situations when caring for victims of traffic accidents, and to reflect the results through the perspective of gender theories. Nine police officers were asked to narrate and reflect upon their experiences in taking care of people who had been severely injured in traffic accidents. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The findings are presented in three themes: "being secure with the support system", "being confident about prior successful actions, and "being burdened with uncertainty". The officers' descriptions showed that most of them had strategies that they used when they were first responders, developed on the basis of their own knowledge and actions and the support systems in their organization which enabled them to act in traumatic situations. When support systems, knowledge, and actions were insufficient, they sometimes felt insecure and "burdened with uncertainty". In this male-dominated context, there was a risk that the officers may not talk enough about traumatic situations, thus influencing their ability to cope successfully.