Psychosocial barriers and facilitators for a successful return to work following injury within firefighters

Abstract

Objective The aim was to explore firefighter’s experiences during their recovery from injury. Focused specifically on exploring perceived psychosocial barriers and facilitators firefighters faced during recovery and return to work. Methods Semi-structured interviews were used to provide an in-depth understanding of the firefighter’s experiences. The semi-structured interviews were informed by a topic guide. The topic guide focused on five main themes, (1) overall experience of returning to operational duties following an injury, (2) perceived barriers experienced during their return to work, (3) perceived facilitators experienced during their return to work, (4) confidence in participating in physical activity following injury and (5) where they felt areas of improvement could be made with the return to work process. Thematic analysis of the data collected was undertaken using The Framework Method. Results Two main themes were sought after transcription: barriers and facilitators. From these, nine subthemes were identified (1) communication, (2) confidence in physical activity participation, (3) modified duties, (4) physiotherapy, (5) return to operational duties, (6) support, (7) inconsistency, (8) use of station gyms, (9) detachment from the watch. Conclusions Consideration should be made for the consistency of procedures followed during an individual’s return to work following an injury. Further research is needed to understand if the themes identified in this study are the same for other fire services. Further research is also needed to understand how the findings may be best implemented within the fire service.

Men farmers’ experiences of identity following lower limb amputation due to traumatic farming accidents: An interpretative phenomenological study.

“…First, consider stage of identity development and identity status regarding maintenance of valued identities and/or development of new identities that expand the self and can facilitate PTG (Muldoon et al, 2019). Second, themes uncovered in this research could provide a conceptual framework for assessments and interventions which may facilitate greater rapport and engagement with an underresearched population who may be reluctant to engage clinically (O'Donnell & Richardson, 2018;Roy et al, 2013).…”

“…Whilst much research examines the antecedents of farming accidents (Douphrate et al, 2013;Jadhav et al, 2015) and some their physical consequences (Rorat et al, 2015;Sheehan et al, 2020), literature exploring the psychosocial aftermath is scarce. The psychosocial sequelae of occupational accidents are crucial determinants of recovery and rehabilitation (Besemann et al, 2018;Noll et al, 2022;Walker et al, 2007). This is important considering farmers are at greater risk of mental health issues compared to the general population (Donham & Thelin, 2016;Fraser et al, 2005) with occupational injury a significant contributing factor (Daghagh Yazd et al, 2019).…”

“…Indeed, women farmers face adversities (Shortall et al, 2017) as do underrepresented transgender or nonbinary farmers (Doherty & Kaiser, 2022). The justification for this study is rooted in literature that cites prominent mental health challenges faced by men farmers (O'Donnell & Richardson, 2018;Roy et al, 2013).…”

“…Despite experiencing significant physical and psychological trauma, participants were interpreted as possessing positive mental health. Though unanticipated considering the evidence base regarding farmers' mental health (O'Donnell & Richardson, 2018;Roy et al, 2013), this makes sense as participants possessed either resilient or PTG identities and a robust identity is foundational for psychological well-being (Adler et al, 2016;Meeus, 2011). Despite differences, all participants conveyed narratives embellished with factors that contribute to PTG.…”

Inter-Rater and Intra-Rater Reliability of Return-to-Work Screening Tests for UK Firefighters Following Injury

“…Reliability for repeated measures is especially important in assessing the consistency of the RTW screening test. A lack of consistency for RTW assessments following injury was perceived as a barrier amongst firefighters experienced during their RTW process [ 49 ]. Therefore, if this RTW screening test was used as good practice within UK fire and rescue services, it could potentially remove this barrier by adding trustworthiness to the RTW process and help to increase the consistency of the RTW assessment.…”