Abstract
According to previous research, participation in exercise training (ET) by South Korean firefighters varies with shift type, and the effect of shift type is greater in large cities than in small towns. However, shift types differ among regions, depending on the number of dispatches. Therefore, the present study examined the impact of the number of fire dispatches and other situational factors on ET. A series of multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the data collected from South Korean firefighters (N = 5219) in 2017. According to the firefighters, participation in ET is higher among those who have someone to instruct their ET (Coefficient (Coef) = 0.057, SE = 0.017, p < 0.001) and who can do ET while on duty (Coef = 0.048, SE = 0.014, p < 0.001). The number of fire dispatches had a significant effect on participation in ET (Coef = −0.000, SE = 0.000, p < 0.01), meaning that the firefighters’ participation in ET varies with the number of fire dispatches in each region. Our main findings indicate that the number of fire dispatches is a key factor affecting ET participation among firefighters, and the other situational factors also play a role. Therefore, ET programs that firefighters can participate in between calls should be established.
Highlights
Firefighters are required to have high levels of physical fitness compared with other occupational groups because they perform arduous tasks in strenuous environments [1,2]
80% of firefighters participated in exercise training (ET) for 30–90 min, 9% for 90–120, and 11% for 120–150 min per week respectively, and almost half—2548 (49.27%)—of firefighters participated in ET for > 150 min per week
We found a relationship between the number of fire dispatches and ET participation and analyzed the effect of other situational factors
Summary
Firefighters are required to have high levels of physical fitness compared with other occupational groups because they perform arduous tasks in strenuous environments [1,2]. Physical fitness is clearly related to their performance in fire suppression because they need to rescue victims while carrying approximately 22.68 kg of protective equipment [3,4]. According to previous studies, South Korean firefighters do not meet these physical fitness requirements [5,6]. The level of participation in the sports activities of female firefighters is lower than in male counterparts in terms of. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 5913; doi:10.3390/ijerph17165913 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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