Occupational stressors among firefighters: application of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM)Techniques

BACKGROUND: Firefighters are exposed to a wide range of occupational stressors due to the nature of their job. Multi-criteria decision-making technique (MCDM) is a method for identifying, evaluating, and preventing occupational stressors among firefighters. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize the occupational stressors among firefighters using the fuzzy delphi method (FDM) and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). METHODS: This qualitative-descriptive study was carried out in two stages. First, the most important occupational stressors of firefighters were identified and screened using a systematic review of scientific references and expert opinions based on the FDM. Then, all of the screened stressors were weighted and prioritized by the FAHP using the opinions of experts. All results were analyzed using Excel software. RESULTS: Among, the 52 occupational stressors of firefighters identified in the first stage, 27 stressors were selected to enter into the FAHP. The FAHP results showed that among the four main dimensions, the weight of managerial factors (0.358) was more than other dimensions. The overall result of the study, regardless of the stressors’ main dimensions showed that the most important stressors among firefighters were financial strain due to inadequate pay, fear of explosion at incident scenes, toxic smoke, and gases produced at fires and lack of attention given to job safety by management, respectively. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the study, most occupational stressors of the firefighters are caused by organizational factors. Therefore, the implementation of management strategies to reduce the occupational stress of firefighters is recommended.