Firefighter Perspectives on Occupational and Behavioral Causes of Obesity: A Qualitative Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker, Dean B. ; Choi B ; Dobson M ; Garcia J ; Israel L ; Schnall P ; Wigger E
• Description:
  As part of the FORWARD study (Choi et al., 2011), we investigate the work-related and behavioral causes of obesity from the perspective of firefighters. Qualitative approaches to building theory prioritize and privilege the knowledge of those living or working in their everyday worlds and as part of a participatory action research process can enhance "research-to-practice" goals. Firefighters have a unique set of working conditions and are generally considered a health-conscious population, yet rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and heart attacks on the job are high. Very little research has been published investigating the work-related and health behavioral causes of obesity among firefighters' and almost no research draws on firefighter knowledge of the work environment. We conducted four focus groups with a total of 20 firefighters of every rank (firefighters/engineers, captains, and battalion chiefs), from a regional fire authority in California, with the intent of generating qualitative data about the health behavior and occupation-related causes of obesity as well as developing a firefighter-specific work and health questionnaire. Firefighters responded candidly with ideas about the causes of the high rates of obesity among them. Analysis revealed five main themes of central importance to firefighters: 1) the culture of eating, 2) sleep interruption, 3) leadership and physical fitness, 4) sedentary work, 5) aging and generational differences. The findings suggest a strong interrelationship between occupational and behavioral causes and implications will be discussed relative to the ongoing FORWARD study and to future interventions. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Firefighters Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Obesity Behavior Patterns Fire Fighters Obesity Questionnaires Risk Factors
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056203
• Citation:
  APHA 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012, San Francisco, California. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2012 Oct; :269419
• Contact Point Address:
  Marnie Dobson, PhD, University of California Irvine, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, 5201 California Ave. Suite 100, Irvine, CA USA 92617
• Email:
  mdobson@uci.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Irvine
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  APHA 140th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012, San Francisco, California
• End Date:
  20130831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:74fa551468adbabe301f16107e54a0d7b4ddde8c019c7acc482117fb268214ef5898f3f704a6e4c8103300ed0e739731bb2594c43112b06bfc649311a0b9e3de
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213857/cdc_213857_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 99.38 KB ]