ASSOCIATION BETWEEN WORKLOAD AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN MALAYSIA ELITE FIREFIGHTER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.21/no.2/art.1067Keywords:
Workload, psychological well-being, firefighter, NASA-TLX, DASS-21Abstract
Emergency responders are frequently exposed to life-threatening risks when attending to critical incident events causing an increasing number of psychological health issues among emergency responders. However, few studies are related to workload and its association with Malaysian emergency responders' mental health problems. Hence, the study objective is to identify the level of workload, determine the level of psychological well-being and their association with Malaysian firefighters. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Grade A and B stations firefighters in Kota Bharu Kelantan using a validated NASA-TLX and DASS-21 questionnaire through a purposive sampling method. Respondents were divided into standard operations teams and elite teams such as Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS). Results show that although EMRS, the medical team has the highest overall workload demand, firefighters deemed performance and effort demand a significant workload demand comparing to others. It is also found that most firefighters have higher anxiety issues comparing to depression and stress, where 30% to 61% of respondents develop a certain level of anxiety corresponding to only 15% to 39% for depression and 13% to 28% for stress. Hence, it is suggested that further research should be conducted in investigating and understanding the contributing factors towards Malaysian firefighters’ psychological health problems so that they can be managed or even prevented.
References
Sporer CR. Sex Differences in Stress , Burnout and Coping in Emergency Medical Service Providers. 2016.
Kleim B, Westphal M. Mental Health in First Responders: A Review and Recommendation for Prevention and Intervention Strategies. Traumatology. 2011;17(4):17–24.
Bentley MA, Crawford J Mac, Wilkins JR, Fernandez AR, Studnek JR. An Assessment of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Nationally Certified EMS Professionals. Prehospital Emergency Care. 2013 Jul;17(3):330–8.
Dowdall-Thomae C, Gilkey J, Larson W, Arend-Hicks R. Elite firefighter/first responder mindsets and outcome coping efficacy. International journal of emergency mental health. 2012;14(4):269–81.
Iranmanesh S. Post-traumatic stress disorder among paramedic and hospital emergency personnel in south-east Iran. World Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2013;4(1):26.
MNSC. Policy and Mechanism of Disaster in Malaysia. Malaysia: Malaysia National Security Council, Prime Minister Department; 2012 p. 44.
Khairilmizal S, Hussin MFF, Mohd Yassin AI, Husna KA, Sulaiman AA, Jusoh MH, et al. Evolution of Disaster and Disaster Management Policy in Malaysia. Advanced Science Letters. 2016 Dec 1;22(12):4209–12.
Khairilmizal S, Hussin MF, Yassin AIM, Salleh MKM, Ainul Husna K, Jusoh MH, et al. Incident Potential Index Model Complimenting Malaysia Disaster Management Environment. International Journal of Engineering & Technology. 2018;7(3):486–9.
Khairilmizal S, Hussin MF, Mohd Yassin AI, Hussain AR, Husna KA, Jusoh MH, et al. Policy on Disaster Management in Malaysia: The Need of Supporting Governance. Advanced Science Letters. 2016 Dec 1;22(12):4213–5.
Roja Ž, Kaļķis V, Kaļķis H, Pencis I. Assessment of firefighters-rescuers’ work severity in relation with interaction between physical and mental load. Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences Section B Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences. 2009 Jan;63(6):264–70.
Dahlan A. Malek M, Mearns K, Flin R. Stress and psychological well‐being in UK and Malaysian fire fighters. Burke RJ, editor. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal. 2010 Feb;17(1):50–61.
Luftman K, Aydelotte J, Rix K, Ali S, Houck K, Coopwood TB, et al. PTSD in those who care for the injured. Injury [Internet]. 2017 Feb;48(2):293–6. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2016.11.001
Haynes H. U.S. Firefighter Injuries in 2016. NFPA Journal. 2017
Bos J, Mol E, Visser B, Frings-Dresen M. Risk of health complaints and disabilities among Dutch firefighters. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2004;77(6):373–82.
Malek MDA, Fahrudin A, Kamil ISM. Occupational stress and psychological well-being in emergency services. Asian Social Work and Policy Review. 2009;3(3):143–54.
Galy E, Paxion J, Berthelon C. Measuring mental workload with the NASA-TLX needs to examine each dimension rather than relying on the global score: an example with driving. Ergonomics. 2018;61(4):517–27.
Ruiz-Rabelo JF, Navarro-Rodriguez E, Di-Stasi LL, Diaz-Jimenez N, Cabrera-Bermon J, Diaz-Iglesias C, et al. Validation of the NASA-TLX Score in Ongoing Assessment of Mental Workload During a Laparoscopic Learning Curve in Bariatric Surgery. Obesity surgery. 2015 Dec;25(12):2451–6.
Laal F, Jafari M, Noorizadeh N, Fallah Madvari R, Rahimi E, Ahmadi E. Mental workload and affecting factors among firefighters in Tehran, Iran, in 2017. Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology. 2017 Oct;6(4):184–9.
Ebrahimi P, Malmoon Z, Zaboli R. Nursing Workloads and Psychological Empowerment in Hospitals: Structural Equations Modeling. Hospital Practices and Research. 2017;2(3):84–9.
Coker AO, Coker OO, Sanni D. Psychometric properties of the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). African Research Review [Internet]. 2018 Jul 16;12(2):135. Available from: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/afrrev/article/view/174532
Fisher J. Validation of the depression anxiety stress scales ( DASS ) 21 as a screening instrument for depression and anxiety in a rural ... Validation of the depression anxiety stress scales ( DASS ) 21 as a screening instrument for depression and anxiety in a rur. 2013;(May 2014).
Pezirkianidis C, Karakasidou E, Lakioti A, Stalikas A, Galanakis M. Psychometric Properties of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) in a Greek Sample. Psychology. 2018;09(15):2933–50.
Ratner B. The correlation coefficient: Its values range between +1/−1, or do they? Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing. 2009 Jun 18;17(2):139–42.
Akoglu H. User’s guide to correlation coefficients. Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2018 Sep;18(3):91–3.
Grier RA. How high is high? A meta-analysis of NASA-TLX global workload scores. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. 2015;2015-Janua:1727–31.
Sandrin É, Gillet N, Fernet C, Leloup M, Depin‐Rouault C. Effects of motivation and workload on firefighters ’ perceived health , stress , and performance. Stress and Health. 2019;(May):1–10.
Khairilmizal S, Hussain AR. SMEP 5203: Emergency Management. First. Kuala Lumpur: Centre for Instructional Design and Technology, Open University Malaysia; 2016. 246.
Subramaniam C, Ali H, Shamsudin FM. Initial emergency response performance of fire fighters in Malaysia. Public Sector Management. 2012;25(1):64–73.
Hussin MF, Khairilmizal S, Siti Hawa B, Yassin AIM, Ainul Husna K, Salleh MKM, et al. The Role of Human Factors in Emergency Management: A Malaysian Company Perspective. International Journal of Engineering & Technology. 2018;7(3):490–3.
Chiorri C, Garbarino S, Bracco F, Magnavita N. Personality Traits Moderate the Effect of Workload Sources on Perceived Workload in Flying Column Police Officers. Frontiers in Psychology. 2015 Nov;6(NOV).
Kim JIJHJI, Park H, Kim JIJHJI. The mediation effect of PTSD, perceived job stress and resilience on the relationship between trauma exposure and the development of depression and alcohol use problems in Korean firefighters: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2018;229(November 2017):450–5.
Huang J, Wang X, Li W, An Y. The relationship between conscientiousness and posttraumatic stress disorder among young Chinese firefighters: The mediating effect of perceived social support. Psychiatry Research. 2019;273(122):450–5.
Paulus DJ, Gallagher MW, Bartlett BA, Tran J, Vujanovic AA. The unique and interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity and emotion dysregulation in relation to posttraumatic stress, depressive, and anxiety symptoms among trauma-exposed firefighters. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2018;84:54–61.
Kennedy BK. The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stress on Firefighters. Stress: The International Journal on the Biology of Stress. 2018.
Dahlan A. Malek M, Mearns K, Flin R. Stress and psychological well‐being in UK and Malaysian fire fighters. Burke RJ, editor. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal. 2010 Feb;17(1):50–61.
Kim JIJHJI, Park H, Kim JIJHJI. The mediation effect of PTSD, perceived job stress and resilience on the relationship between trauma exposure and the development of depression and alcohol use problems in Korean firefighters: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2018;229(November 2017):450–5.
Khairilmizal S, Mohd Yassin AI, Ainul Husna K, Kasri MH, Saadun J, Hussin MF. Evaluation of Lead Responding Agency in Malaysia During Disaster Exercise. In: International Conference on Science and Social Research. Pulau Pinang: IPSis UiTM; 2019.
Khairilmizal S, Hussin MF, Ainul Husna K, Yassin AIM, Wan Ahmad Syafiq WAH, Jusoh MHH, et al. The Need for an Integrated Disaster Management System for Lead Responding Agency in Malaysia During Response and Recovery Phase. International Journal on Information. 2016;19(8A):3307–11.
Ebrahimi P, Malmoon Z, Zaboli R. Nursing Workloads and Psychological Empowerment in Hospitals: Structural Equations Modeling. Hospital Practices and Research. 2017;2(3):84–9.
Hussin MF, Khairilmizal S, Siti Hawa B, Yassin AIM, Ainul Husna K, Salleh MKM, et al. The Role of Human Factors in Emergency Management: A Malaysian Company Perspective. International Journal of Engineering & Technology. 2018;7(3):490–3.
Khairilmizal S, Mohd Yassin AI, Ainul Husna K, Kasri MH, Saadun J, Hussin MF. Evaluation of Lead Responding Agency in Malaysia During Disaster Exercise. In: International Conference on Science and Social Research. Pulau Pinang: IPSis UiTM; 2019.
Saijo Y, Ueno T, Hashimoto Y. Twenty-Four-Hour Shift Work , Depressive Symptoms , and Job Dissatisfaction Among Japanese Firefighters. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2008;51(January):380–91.
