Evaluation of Occupational Exposures to Opioids, Mental Health Symptoms, Exposure to Traumatic Events, and Job Stress in a City Fire Department

Details

• Personal Author:
  Broadwater, Kendra R. ; Chiu, Sophia ; Li, Jessica F. ; Wiegand, Douglas M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Fire department management and union representatives, along with city management representatives, submitted a health hazard evaluation request that expressed concerns about possible unintentional exposure to opioids among firefighters during first responder activities. Additionally, city and fire department officials were concerned about how responding to the opioid epidemic might affect the mental health of firefighters, who also provide emergency medical services for the city. We invited all on-duty firefighters during our visits to fire stations to complete an anonymous written questionnaire that included questions about potential exposure to opioids, personal protective equipment (PPE) availability and use, health effects related to opioid exposure, job stress and potentially traumatic events related to opioid overdose responses, and mental health symptoms and perceived stigma, barriers, and use of resources for coping with stress and mental health symptoms. We found that most firefighters in this city fire department reported being in situations where suspected opioids were visible during the course of their work in the past 6 months. Reported glove use was high during these situations. Two firefighters reported symptoms, which were nonspecific, after contact with suspected opioids. Approximately 20% of firefighters reported one or more potential routes of exposure to suspected opioids, although the frequency of PPE use other than gloves was low. Some firefighters reported symptoms consistent with case definitions of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. We recommended (1) following guidance in the NIOSH Topic Page entitled "Preventing Emergency Responders' Exposures to Illicit Drugs," (2) educating firefighters on occupational safety and health topics related to the exposure to illicit drugs such as fentanyl and its analogues, (3) working with 911 dispatch coordinators to identify possible improvements in information gathering and communication before emergency responders arrive at scenes where illicit drugs are suspected, (4) educating and training firefighters on mental health issues such as suicide prevention, psychological first aid, and recognizing signs of stress, and (5) encouraging firefighters to seek help from a mental health professional when faced with a traumatic event while responding to an opioid exposure call.
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Hazardous Substances Mental Health Narcotics Nervous System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Stress, Psychological Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

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• Keywords:
  Emergency Medical Services Emergency Responders Fentanyl Firefighter Fire Fighters Fire Protection Hazardous Drugs Illicit Drug Job Stress Mental Health Occupational Exposure Opioid OSHA Region 5 Personal Protective Equipment PPE Trauma Traumatic Incident Stress

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• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2018-0015-3384, 2021 Aug ; :1-36
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201800153384
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  36 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  de Perio, Marie ; Giglio, Denise ; Gomez, Guadalupe ; Grimes, Reed ; Hamilton, Cheryl ; Lawson, Sean ; Luckhaupt, Sara ; Morano, Laurel H. ; Siegel, Miriam ; Tapp, Loren ; Tyrawski, Jennifer ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063471
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2021]. Evaluation of occupational exposures to opioids, mental health symptoms, ; exposure to traumatic events, and job stress in a city fire department. By Chiu S, Wiegand DM, ; Broadwater K, Li JF. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for ; Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2018-0015-3384,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Fentanyl (CAS RN 437-38-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  922160 - Fire Protection - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e69a1a7143d8a4c7048af619d4265da2a05dd1e155c7173a103abbaefdcf1b0fc77eed177ef6ec4aea2704842d680846410c0d3a95c65c9fcdd73d2de3e96a0d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172317/cdc_172317_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 429.51 KB ]