Building Resilience in Firefighters: A Systematic Review

Ahad  Heydari; Abbas  Ostadtaghizadeh; Davoud  Khorasani-Zavareh; Ali  Ardalan; Abbas  Ebadi; Iraj  Mohammadfam; Hojjat  Shafaei

doi:10.18502/ijph.v51i7.10088

Ahad Heydari Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Davoud Khorasani-Zavareh Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ali Ardalan Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abbas Ebadi Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Life Style Institute, Faculty of Nursing, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Iraj Mohammadfam Department of Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan,
Hojjat Shafaei Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v51i7.10088

Keywords: Resilience; Safety; Firefighter; Systematic review

Abstract

Background: We aimed to identify indicators affecting firefighters’ resilience through a systematic review.

Methods: International electronic databases, including Web of Science, Medline through PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar, were searched on Dec 23, 2018. The search strategy was developed using main words, including firefighter, resilience, and indicators. Then, the indicators related to firefighters’ resilience were extracted and analyzed using a qualitative synthesis method.

Results: Overall, 7178 unique documents were identified by searching different databases. Then, by screening the title and abstract, 7104 articles were excluded, and only 74 full text papers were critically studied. Finally, 31 full text articles were selected for the analysis. Quality appraisal of included studies done by modified STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) tool. Moreover, 186 indicators and criteria were extracted from the included studies and classified into 6 domains and 15 categories.

Conclusion: This study suggests six main domains, including physical health, physical fitness, mental health, life style, job-related competencies, and demographic status, to categorize different indicators of firefighters’ resilience. Building resilience in firefighters requires all these domains to be considered in the assessment, planning, and evaluation processes.