Death in the Spanish fire services: a curriculum development study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the need and resources firefighters have to deal with death and dying (D&D) that they encounter whilst on duty and to present a curriculum to support D&D issues for firefighters. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative methodology involving focus groups was conducted in two fire stations in Spain. The sample was 38 male participants with a mean age of 46 y/o (range: 30-59 years) and an average tenure of employment of 18 years (range: 6-35 years). Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Dual coding of the transcripts in addition to member checking enhanced analysis. Findings Nine themes emerged: witnessing D&D during rescue operations; memories about D&D and trauma; impact on firefighter’s families; decision-making process under stress; teamwork: protective and self-support; inadequate D&D preparation and training; adequate technical and physical training preparation; relationship between equipment, legal-moral obligation, and victims’ outcomes; communication issues: toward the victim and/or their relatives. These themes were subsequently framed into three basic domains: personal impact of D&D, team impact of D&D, and victim impact. Each domain, in its turn, is covered by three curriculum topics. The curriculum’s pedagogy is primarily based on experimental-reflective activities during 16 study-hours. Research limitations/implications The absence of female participants. All fire stations were in cities with no more than 150,000 inhabitants. Practical implications Individuals who take this curriculum will: increase their ability for self-care and resilience; improve teamwork, leadership skills, and to decrease burnout; provide more effective care for victims; provide skills to cope with compassion fatigue; reduced the levels of post-traumatic stress disorders. Originality/value Understanding firefighters’ needs with relation to D&D, and assessing the resources available to mitigate these issues will provide a comprehensive approach to their education and promote health both personally and professionally. A comparable curriculum or proposal has not been previously identified.

Development and validation of a questionnaire, the REST-Q Fire, to identify teamwork-related resources and stressors in firefighting operations

“…Behavior of team members (Rank 4) is assigned to the superordinate category support between colleagues in the present study and can thus be linked to a lack of support between colleagues [ 11 , 13 ]. Decision-making , which is mentioned frequently in other studies [ 9 , 10 , 12 , 15 , 25 ], is the superordinate category of Decision in case of situation change/ decide between different alternatives 2 (Rank 5). The other aspects of the existing research breach of standards and lack of situational awareness [ 9 , 10 ] are also reflected in the teamwork-related stressors of this study and thus show that the present results can systematically confirm and expand the beginnings that were already researched in the existing literature.…”

“…Various reasons arising from teamwork (decision-making, lack of communication, breach of standards, human error, and lack of situational awareness) together account for 38% of all firefighter injuries during firefighting operations [ 9 ]. Another study identified nine stressors that contribute to firefighter fatalities during operations in Spain, of which two are teamwork and decision-making under stress [ 10 ].…”

Experiences and perceptions of family members of emergency first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder: a qualitative systematic review

“…Potentially relevant studies were retrieved in full, and their citation details imported into the JBI System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review of Information (JBI SUMARI; JBI, Adelaide, Australia). 31 The full text of selected citations was assessed in detail against the inclusion criteria by 2 independent reviewer (MI and KM). Reasons for exclusion of full-text studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria were recorded and reported.…”