Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala

Background: Firefighting is a highly physically and mentally demanding occupation. In many countries, firefighters are frequently exposed to critical events, violent threats and assault in their job, however, knowledge about its prevalence is limited. In addition, little is known about the impact of...

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Autores principales:	Claudia Meneses Pinto, Katja Radon, Frank van Dijk
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ubiquity Press 2018
Materias:	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/980123085b0e49de9280d993f5ec71cb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:980123085b0e49de9280d993f5ec71cb2021-12-02T02:21:25ZViolence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala2214-999610.29024/aogh.2306https://doaj.org/article/980123085b0e49de9280d993f5ec71cb2018-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/2306https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996Background: Firefighting is a highly physically and mentally demanding occupation. In many countries, firefighters are frequently exposed to critical events, violent threats and assault in their job, however, knowledge about its prevalence is limited. In addition, little is known about the impact of workplace violence against firefighters in the development of mental distress. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of mental distress in firefighters exposed to workplace violence. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 141 male full-time firefighters of Guatemala City and Metropolitan Area (response 80.4%) were invited to answer an interview-based questionnaire including items on sociodemographics, working conditions and mental health (general health questionnaire GHQ-12). Mental distress was defined as a GHQ-12 score above 4. The item ‘12-months prevalence of violence on the job’ included physical violence or sexual abuse from colleagues or the public. Statistical analysis with Epiinfo 7 included descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses. Findings: Exposure to violence at the workplace was common (37%). Prevalence of mental distress was higher in violence-exposed firefighters (54%) than among unexposed firemen (39%; p = 0.08). After adjustment, the odds for distress was not statistically significantly increased for those exposed to violence at the workplace in comparison to the unexposed group (1.87; 0.90–3.87). Especially affected by distress were middle-aged firefighters (40–49 years; adjusted Odds Ratio 2.90; 95% Confidence interval 1.20–7.05) compared to younger firemen (<40 years). Conclusions: Exposure to violence at the workplace is common in Guatemalan firefighters. Although limited by small numbers, the association between violence and poor mental health is plausible. Therefore, training programs strengthening resilience among firefighters in areas with high crime prevalence are warranted.Claudia Meneses PintoKatja RadonFrank van DijkUbiquity PressarticleInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 84, Iss 3, Pp 532-537 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Claudia Meneses Pinto Katja Radon Frank van Dijk Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala
description	Background: Firefighting is a highly physically and mentally demanding occupation. In many countries, firefighters are frequently exposed to critical events, violent threats and assault in their job, however, knowledge about its prevalence is limited. In addition, little is known about the impact of workplace violence against firefighters in the development of mental distress. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of mental distress in firefighters exposed to workplace violence. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 141 male full-time firefighters of Guatemala City and Metropolitan Area (response 80.4%) were invited to answer an interview-based questionnaire including items on sociodemographics, working conditions and mental health (general health questionnaire GHQ-12). Mental distress was defined as a GHQ-12 score above 4. The item ‘12-months prevalence of violence on the job’ included physical violence or sexual abuse from colleagues or the public. Statistical analysis with Epiinfo 7 included descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses. Findings: Exposure to violence at the workplace was common (37%). Prevalence of mental distress was higher in violence-exposed firefighters (54%) than among unexposed firemen (39%; p = 0.08). After adjustment, the odds for distress was not statistically significantly increased for those exposed to violence at the workplace in comparison to the unexposed group (1.87; 0.90–3.87). Especially affected by distress were middle-aged firefighters (40–49 years; adjusted Odds Ratio 2.90; 95% Confidence interval 1.20–7.05) compared to younger firemen (<40 years). Conclusions: Exposure to violence at the workplace is common in Guatemalan firefighters. Although limited by small numbers, the association between violence and poor mental health is plausible. Therefore, training programs strengthening resilience among firefighters in areas with high crime prevalence are warranted.
format	article
author	Claudia Meneses Pinto Katja Radon Frank van Dijk
author_facet	Claudia Meneses Pinto Katja Radon Frank van Dijk
author_sort	Claudia Meneses Pinto
title	Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala
title_short	Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala
title_full	Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala
title_fullStr	Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala
title_full_unstemmed	Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala
title_sort	violence at work and mental distress among firefighters in guatemala
publisher	Ubiquity Press
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/980123085b0e49de9280d993f5ec71cb
work_keys_str_mv	AT claudiamenesespinto violenceatworkandmentaldistressamongfirefightersinguatemala AT katjaradon violenceatworkandmentaldistressamongfirefightersinguatemala AT frankvandijk violenceatworkandmentaldistressamongfirefightersinguatemala
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Violence at Work and Mental Distress among Firefighters in Guatemala

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