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Firefighters, posttraumatic stress disorder, and barriers to treatment: Results from a nationwide total population survey

  • 주제(기타) Multidisciplinary Sciences
  • 설명문(일반) [Kim, Jieun E.; Ma, Jiyoung; Park, Shinwon; Kim, Jungyoon; Choi, Yera; Lee, Suji L.; Kang, Ilhyang; Ha, Eunji; Cho, Han Byul; Lee, Sunho; Yoon, Sujung; Lyoo, In Kyoon] Ewha Womans Univ, Ewha Brain Inst, Seoul, South Korea; [Kim, Jieun E.; Park, Shinwon; Kim, Jungyoon; Lee, Suji L.; Kang, Ilhyang; Ha, Eunji; Yoon, Sujung; Lyoo, In Kyoon] Ewha Womans Univ, Dept Brain & Cognit Sci, Seoul, South Korea; [Dager, Stephen R.] Univ Washington, Dept Radiol, Seattle, WA 98195 USA; [Dager, Stephen R.] Univ Washington, Dept Bioengn, Seattle, WA 98195 USA; [Jeong, Hyeonseok S.] Catholic Univ Korea, Incheon St Marys Hosp, Dept Radiol, Coll Med, Seoul, South Korea; [Cho, Han Byul] Univ Utah, Dept Psychiat, Salt Lake City, UT USA; [Kim, Eui-Jung] Ewha Womans Univ, Dept Psychiat, Seoul, South Korea
  • 등재 SCIE, SCOPUS
  • 발행기관 PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
  • 발행년도 2018
  • URI http://www.dcollection.net/handler/ewha/000000150017
  • 본문언어 영어
  • Published As http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190630

초록/요약

Repeated exposure to traumatic experiences may put professional firefighters at increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To date, however, the rate of PTSD symptoms, unmet need for mental health treatment, and barriers to treatment have only been investigated in subsamples rather than the total population of firefighters. We conducted a nationwide, total population-based survey of all currently employed South Korean firefighters (n = 39,562). The overall response rate was 93.8% (n = 37,093), with 68.0% (n = 26,887) complete responses for all variables. The rate of current probable PTSD was estimated as 5.4%. Among those with current probable PTSD (n = 1,995), only a small proportion (9.7%) had received mental health treatment during the past month. For those who had not received treatment, perceived barriers of accessibility to treatment (29.3%) and concerns about potential stigma (33.8%) were reasons for not receiving treatment. Although those with higher PTSD symptom severity and functional impairment were more likely to seek treatment, greater symptom severity and functional impairment were most strongly associated with increased concerns about potential stigma. This nationwide study points to the need for new approaches to promote access to mental health treatment in professional firefighters.

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