Abstract
Firefighters experience a lack of sleep, which affects family roles, routines, and leisure activities. This presentation will give information on the sleeping patterns of firefighters and the impact it can have on aspects of home life.
Primary Author and Speaker: Neidy Garza
Sleep is an essential aspect of daily function that can positively or negatively impact an individual. By engaging in sleep, the body can regenerate to perform everyday activities. Sleep is not only a biological necessity, but it can influence a multitude of waking factors (Leive & Morrison, 2020). The connection between sleep and occupations is often undermined and overlooked. According to the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (2008), sleep is an occupational domain that focuses on sleep rest, preparation, and participation.This study focuses on the sleeping patterns among firefighters and the impact it has on their home life. This population is vulnerable because of long work shifts, fatigue, and lack of sleep (Jeklin et al., 2020; Dyal et al., 2022). Sleep as an occupation is an essential aspect of successful home life participation. Therefore, it requires assessment to ensure the firefighters and their family members’ well-being. Using a quantitative methodology, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. The Lifestyle Performance Model was used to guide interview questions to understand better the determinants of lifestyle that impact quality of life and well-being. Inductive coding was done to develop relevant themes appropriate to the theory. The outcomes implicate that lack of sleep, caused by the job demand, impacts time spent with family. As a result, OTs will better understand the importance of sleep and its role in successfully performing meaningful occupations.
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Jeklin, A. T., Davies, H. W., Bredin, S., Hives, B. A., Meanwell, L. E., Perrotta, A. S., & Warburton, D. (2020). Fatigue and sleep patterns among Canadian wildland firefighters during a 17-day fire line deployment. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 17(7-8), 364–371. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2020.1759809
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