Using Collaborative Partnerships to Engage Firefighters in Rural Communities

Ritchie Taylor, Gretchen Macy, Jooyeon Hwang, Vijay Golla, Charles Cann and Edrisa Sanyang
Additional contact information
Ritchie Taylor: Center for Environmental and Workplace Health, Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42104, USA
Gretchen Macy: Center for Environmental and Workplace Health, Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42104, USA
Jooyeon Hwang: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
Vijay Golla: Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78224, USA
Charles Cann: Center for Environmental and Workplace Health, Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42104, USA
Edrisa Sanyang: Center for Environmental and Workplace Health, Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42104, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-9

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to utilize community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods to identify behaviors that may increase the exposure rates of firefighters to carcinogens and other occupational hazards. Key informant interviews and focus groups were conducted as part of a larger study that included exposure assessments at fire stations, in fire engines, and in personal vehicles. A purposive sample of five fire chiefs and leaders of the firefighter association was chosen, and these individuals were selected to participate in interviews. Unstructured interviews explored issues related to firefighter exposures and occupational hazards. Three focus groups were conducted over a three-month period. Following the focus groups, survey questions emphasizing the following three aspects of firefighting were developed: exposure to airborne smoke contaminants during fire suppression, accumulated exposure on turnout gear after fire suppression, and exposure to airborne contaminants at the fire departments. The use of community-based participatory research can be very beneficial, especially when conducting research with a group that may be hard to reach or have misgivings regarding researchers. By utilizing this approach in the current study, researchers were able to partner with a community that may be hard to reach and gain buy-in from community leadership.

Keywords: occupational health; firefighter health; occupational safety and health; community-based participatory research (CBPR); exposure assessment; airborne contaminants; carcinogens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2009/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2009/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2009-:d:746836

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().