TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Supporting volunteer firefighter well-being: lessons from the Australian "Black Summer" bushfires
JO  - Prehospital and disaster medicine
A1  - Smith, Erin
A1  - Holmes, Lisa
A1  - Larkin, Brigid
A1  - Mills, Brennen
A1  - Dobson, Mark
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - INTRODUCTION: The 2019-2020 "Black Summer" bushfires in Australia focused the attention of the nation on the critical role that volunteer firefighters play in the response to such a disaster, spurring a national conversation about how to best support those on the frontline. The objective of this research was to explore the impact of the Black Summer bushfires on volunteer firefighter well-being and to investigate how to deliver effective well-being support. <br><br>METHODS: An explorative qualitative design underpinned by a phenomenological approach was applied. Participant recruitment followed a multi-modal sampling strategy and data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. <br><br>RESULTS: Qualitative data were collected from 58 participants aged from 23 to 61-years-of-age (average age of 46 years). All self-reported as volunteer firefighters who had responded to the Black Summer bushfires in Australia. Just over 80% of participants were male and the majority lived in the Australian states of New South Wales (65%) and Victoria (32%). All participants reported impact on their well-being, resulting from cumulative trauma exposure, responding to fires in local communities, intense work demands, minimal intervals between deployments, and disruption to primary employment. In regard to supporting well-being, four key themes emerged from data analysis: (1) Well-being support needs to be both proactive and reactive and empower local leaders to "reach in" while encouraging responders to "reach out;" (2) Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) should not be the only well-being support option available; (3) The sharing of lived experience is important; and (4) Support programs need to address self-stigmatization. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Participants in this research identified that effective well-being support needs to be both proactive and reactive and holistic in approach.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1049-023X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X22000322
ID  - ref1
ER  -