Interactions Between Home, Work, and Sleep Among Firefighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bowles NP ; Hurtado DA ; Shannon MA ; Shea SA ; Watkins SL
• Description:
  Background: Firefighters endure large occupational burdens and generally operate under conditions of chronic sleep deficiency and circadian disruption due to long shifts, plus interrupted sleep due to emergency calls during the night. A typical shift for firefighters is 24-h on/48-h off, and firefighters are expected to use time-off to recover from any sleep debt, while balancing social, family, and home responsibilities. This qualitative study sets out to assess family dynamics and how firefighters prioritize sleep and recovery at home based on relationship or family status, as well as a fire department's current shift schedule. Methods: Focus groups were conducted via convenience sampling in Portland, OR, with full-time firefighters, battalion chiefs, and their spouses. Grounded theory, using NVivo 12 Plus, was used to code transcripts to reveal reoccurring concepts and themes. Results: Major themes centered around the increase of nonemergent calls contributing to compassion fatigue. Spouses can help improve the sleep of firefighters by creating opportunities for recuperative sleep at home. However, spouses also conveyed underlying tones of "resentment" relating to their firefighter being unavailable for emotional and instrumental support. While married firefighters discussed choosing family and home obligations over reducing sleep debt to maintain relationships, single and divorced firefighters spoke of fewer conflicts impeding their ability to prioritize sleep at home. Conclusions: These results improve our understanding of how firefighters prioritize sleep at home based on family dynamics and can inform future decision-making for fire departments in addressing concerns related to work-family conflict, sleep loss, and compassion fatigue among their members. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Circadian Rhythm Emergencies Emergency Responders Environmental Exposure Firefighters Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Shift Work Schedule Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders Temperature Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Emergency Workers Circadian Rhythms Emergency Responders Emergency Response Exposure Levels Fire Fighters Injuries Occupational Health Physiological Stress Psychological Stress Qualitative Analysis Risk Factors Sampling Shift Work Sleep Disorders Stress Temperature Effects Total Worker Health Toxins Traumatic Injuries TWH Work-life Balance Work Environment Workload

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Oregon ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  137-148
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061282
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2021 Feb; 64(2):137-148
• Contact Point Address:
  Nicole P. Bowles PhD, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd, L606, Portland, OR 97239-30
• Email:
  bowlesn@ohsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a81db742208fc27e6085608601cc5b8df6b2b4ebe5af1f6cf1a3e8b4db905966138be92e2edf0f188bb5ad34f29609e52bc981ff73a82ec42f6eac3a4ff8cb70
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224856/cdc_224856_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 818.48 KB ]