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Abstract
This research was conducted on firefighters who are involved in risky activities and experience
work stress and fatigue. The purpose of the study is to determine the nature of work fatigue
and stress by examining the physical and psychosocial risk factors. It was conducted on 80
firefighters and administrative staff using a cross-sectional research design with observations;
the completion of questionnaires; testing of the amylase enzyme activation in saliva with a
Cocoro meter (Nipro Cocoro); measurement of reaction time with the Sleep 2 Peak smartphone
application (S2P); and measurement of vital body signs such as temperature, pulse and blood
pressure. Physical risk factors (force, awkward posture and manual handling), psychosocial
risk factors (effort, appreciation, over commitment, stress in job roles, emotional burden, social
support and non-employment) and organizational work factors (shifts and the status of
workers) are independent factors in the research into stress and work fatigue. The results of the
study show that a significant relationship between risk factors on the neck had an effect on
fatigue (CI 95% 1.75 to 16.16; OR 5.32); psychosocial factors, namely emotional burden (95%
CI 1.04 to 5.78; OR 1.56); stress in jobs roles (95% CI 1.23 to 4.76; OR 1.52); and social
support from the family (95% CI 1.27 to 5.43; OR 2.51) to stress and organizational work
factors consisted of type of work (CI 95% 0.05 to 0.55; OR 0.16), shift system (CI 95% 0.06
to 0.54; OR 0.18) and the status of workers had a relationship with the stress experienced by
firefighters.
Keywords: firefighters; work-related risk factors; work-related stress; fatigue
Introduction
Firefighters have jobs that pose diverse challenges and stressors (Baker, 2013). Based on the
results of a job-rated study by the American Psychological Association (2017), firefighters
ranked second out of the ten most stressful jobs, with a percentage of 72.43% (CareerCast,
2018). The work-related hazards faced by firefighters include chemical, physical and
psychosocial ones, which are related to the content and context of their work, including their
roles in the organization, job satisfaction, interpersonal relationships, household problems, and
workload related to work schedules or formats (Cox, Griffiths & Rial-Gonzalez., 2000; Baker,
2013).
According to research by Sharifah et al. (2012) related to the shift schedules of firefighters'
work in Malaysia, officers who worked 24-hour shifts had a higher incidence rate compared to
officers who worked 12-hour shifts. This was influenced by their workload, during which they
were required to be more awake, think fast, and react responsively when emergency events
occurred throughout the day. Malek, Mearns and Flin (2010) revealed that work schedules
experienced by firefighters with the format of 24 hours of work followed by 24 hours off (4
working days, 3 rest days), or 48 hours of work followed by 24 hours off (5 working days, 2
rest days), resulted in a very high risk of work fatigue and stress.
Work-related fatigue and stress are amongst the factors causing accidents at work. According
to ILO data (2013), as many as two million workers are victims every year of work accidents
caused by fatigue. These results involved 18,828 workers out of a population of 58,118,
meaning about 32.8% of workers experienced fatigue while working. Based on other studies,
about 40% of fatal accidents in all industrial sectors occur in the workplace due to the fatigue
experienced by workers (Vondráčková, Voštová and Nývlt, 2017). Several factors, such as
work, individual characteristics, and the psychosocial and physical environment, have a
relationship with stress and can cause fatigue in individuals, which affects their safety when
carrying out their work (Safe Work Australia, 2013).
Therefore, this study aims to establish the physical and psychosocial risk factors in work stress
and fatigue amongst firefighters, and to analyze the relationship between these factors and the
work stress and fatigue of firefighters in City X in 2018.
Methods
The design of this research study is cross sectional, being research that was only conducted
once (Newman, 2007). The study made subjective measurements using a questionnaire,
comprising the Swedish Occupational Fatigue Inventory (SOFI) and the Fatigue Assessment
Scale (FAS), as well as Effort Reward Imbalance, COPSOQ, NIOSH Generic Job Stress and
NIOSH Quality of Work Life (QWL) questionnaires. In addition, objective measurements were
made, including measurement of Salivary Amylase Activation (SAA) using a Cocoro meter
tool (Nipro Cocoro); testing of reaction time duration with the Sleep 2 Peak (S2P) smart phone
application; and heart rate and body temperature measurements. Secondary data were also
employed in the form of company operational data and other related literature.
Alpha-amylase is one of the major salivary enzymes in humans and is secreted from the
salivary glands in response to sympathetic stimulation. Salivary amylase is a biochemical
indicator that is useful for evaluating sympathetic activity from the sympathetic nervous
adrenomedullary (SAM) system.
Amylase activation in the salivary glands not only acts as a measure of norepinephrine levels,
but is also faster and more sensitive in responding to psychological stress than cortisol. This
shows that the activation of the amylase enzyme in saliva can be used as an index of
psychological stress levels. Research by Shetty et al. (2011) showed that amylase activity
decreases when the subject feels eustress (is comfortable) and rises in distress conditions
(uncomfortable ones). This shows that changes in alpha amylase enzyme activity can
distinguish between eustress and distress conditions.
SAA measurement uses the Cocoro meter (Nipro Corporation Japan) measuring instrument. A
Cocoro meter (Nipro Cocoro) is used to measure the level of alpha amylase in saliva, which
can measure both psychological and psychosocial stress levels with an accuracy of about 94%
if performed for under one minute. The unit used was kU / l. Use of this method was made by
inserting a strip (on which saliva could be placed) into the mouth for 10-30 seconds. The strip
was then inserted into the reader, namely the Cocoro meter. The results can be seen in a few
minutes, and the Cocoro meter will display the amylase levels in the saliva. There are four
classifications, namely:
a. Not stress: 0-30 kU / l
b. Mild stress: 31 - 45 kU / l
c. Moderate stress: 46 - 60 kU / l
d. Hard stress: ≥ 61 kU / l
Testing was done by involving the function of perception, and interpretation and reaction of
the motor by measuring the reaction time using a smartphone application called Sleep 2 Peak
(S2P). Reaction time is the period of time from being excited to a moment of consciousness;
carrying out the activity of prolonging the reaction time is an indication of a slowdown in the
physiological and muscle processes. Sleep 2 Peak is a smartphone application that uses the
Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) principle.
The advantage of this PVP is that it has a high sensitivity and validity for losing one's sleep
time. Several related studies have revealed that PVP applications can be a measurement of RT
(Reaction Timer) if a person experiences chronic sleep deprivation. PVP applications have
been released up to the fourth generation and can be installed on an iPod (Ios 7.1); version 1.2
of Sleep 2 Peak was installed, which was released on October 28, 2013. This application was
designed to be able to assess the level of fatigue by observing changes in people’s alertness by
examining adequacy of sleep, prolonged activity and circadian rhythms (Brunet et al., 2017).
This study made observations and measurements at the beginning and the end of the work shifts
of officers who had a 1-1 working format; that is, one day working and one day off. The results
obtained were used to determine fluctuations and comparisons experienced by officers at the
beginning and the end of the shifts during the 24 hour period. The results of the study are
presented in a descriptive form to order to develop a description of the physical, psychosocial
and work organization risk factors, and the correlation between the independent and dependent
factors in the study, namely stress and work fatigue amongst firefighters.
Results
The results of the measurement of stress and fatigue in the respondents is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Measurement Results of Fatigue and Stress in the Research Respondents
It was found that as many as 82.6% of the administrative personnel and 43.9% of clamber
officers were in the stress category, based on measurements of the amylase index in saliva.
56.5% of administrative staff and 45.6% of clamber were in the fatigue category, based on the
results of the reaction time measurement with the Sleep 2 Peak (S2P) application.
Table 2. Measurement Results of SAA and S2P on Research Respondents
Based on Table 2, the results of the first measurement of salivary enzyme activation with the
Cocoro meter, or before work, showed an average of 31.61 kU/l, with a median of 27.0 kU/l
and a standard deviation of 23.51. In the second measurement, or after work, the results showed
an average of 36.11, with a median of 34.50 and standard deviation of 25.10.
The results of the first reaction time measurement with the S2P application, or before work,
showed an average of 347.36 m/s2, with a median of 351.50 m/s2 and a standard deviation of
62.62. The results of the measurement of reaction time in the second measurement, or after
work, had an average of 346.56 m/s2, with a median of 347.00 m / s2 and a standard deviation
of 54.79.
Graph 1 shows the SAA measurement results for the firefighters.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344
Graph 1. SAA measurement results for firefighters while on duty in normal conditions
500
400
300
200
100
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43
Graph 2. S2P measurement results for firefighters while on duty in normal conditions
This research uses sub-unit samples for measurement, comprising firefighters involved or in
condition after extinguishing fires that day.
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Graph 3. SAA measurement results for firefighters after the work condition (involve of fire
extinguisher brigade)
500
400
300
200
100
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Graph 4. S2P measurement results for firefighters after the work condition (involve of fire
extinguisher brigade)
RISK FACTORS Fatigue OR CI 95% Stress Index OR CI 95%
Not Yes Not Yes
n % N % N % n %
INDIVIDUAL FACTORS
AGE < 32,25 th 34 57,6 25 42,4 1,00 32 62,7 19 37,3 1,00
≥ 32,25 th 7 33,3 14 66,7 2,72 0,96-7,72 4 13,8 25 86,2 10,53 3,18-34,89***
PHYSICAL FACTORS
Fatigue OR CI 95% Stress OR CI 95%
RISK FACTORS Not Yes Not Stress
n % n % n % n %
Risk Factor in Low 31 63,3 18 36,7 1,00 26 53,1 23 46,9 1,00
Back High 15 48,4 16 51,6 1,83 0,74-4,58 13 41,9 18 58,1 1,61 0,97-3,46
Risk Factor in Low 35 62,5 21 37,5 1,00 1,00 36 64,3 20 35,7 1,00
Shoulder High 11 45,8 13 54,2 1,97 0,75-5,19 10 41,7 14 58,3 1,59 0,23-7,51
Risk Factor in Low 41 61,2 26 38,8 1,00 35 52,2 32 47,8 1,00
Wrist High 5 38,5 8 61,5 2,52 0,74-8,55 4 30,3 9 69,7 3,05 0,11-6,44
Risk Factor in Low 22 81,5 5 18,5 1,00 15 55,6 12 44,4 1,00
Neck High 24 45,3 29 54,7 5,32 1,75- 26 49,1 27 50,9 1,29 0,51-5,29
16,16**
PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS
Fatigue OR CI 95% STRESS OR CI 95%
RISK FACTORS Not Yes Not Yes
n % n % n % n %
Effort Low 21 61,8 13 38,2 1,00 18 52,9 16 47,1 1,00
High 20 43,5 26 56,5 2,1 0,85-5,20 20 43,5 26 56,5 1,16 0,47-2,82
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