Firefighters respond to dangerous emergencies every day. The physical and mental wellness of firefighters is very important to their overall job performance. To support this, fire departments must have established, comprehensive wellness programs (International Association of Firefighters, 2008). Even with national standard recommendation of wellness programs, one does not exist in a fire department located in Northern Ohio.
The focus of this research is to explore reasons why these highly recommended wellness programs are not established. Successful establishment of a wellness program requires understanding why this fire department is hesitant or unsuccessful in implementing and maintaining a wellness program.
This research consisted of a qualitative study with employees from a single fire department. Three employees were chosen at three different levels of the fire department rank structure: entry-level, middle management, and high management. These three employees were chosen at random by the chief of the department. Employees were asked various questions about their knowledge of (a) the leading cause of firefighter fatalities, (b) awareness of wellness programs, (c) whether their department should have a wellness program, and (d) who in the department would be advocates for a wellness program.
Participants all agree that the components of the wellness programs are important. Results from the interviews indicated that cost was not a reason preventing implementation; however, three main issues surfaced: (1) there was a clear breakdown of communication between different levels within the department, (2) the previously implemented wellness program failed, and (3) the department lacks voluntary participation.
","abstract_html":"<p>Firefighters respond to dangerous emergencies every day. The physical and mental wellness of firefighters is very important to their overall job performance. To support this, fire departments must have established, comprehensive wellness programs (International Association of Firefighters, 2008). Even with national standard recommendation of wellness programs, one does not exist in a fire department located in Northern Ohio. </p> <p>The focus of this research is to explore reasons why these highly recommended wellness programs are not established. Successful establishment of a wellness program requires understanding why this fire department is hesitant or unsuccessful in implementing and maintaining a wellness program. </p> <p>This research consisted of a qualitative study with employees from a single fire department. Three employees were chosen at three different levels of the fire department rank structure: entry-level, middle management, and high management. These three employees were chosen at random by the chief of the department. Employees were asked various questions about their knowledge of (a) the leading cause of firefighter fatalities, (b) awareness of wellness programs, (c) whether their department should have a wellness program, and (d) who in the department would be advocates for a wellness program. </p> <p>Participants all agree that the components of the wellness programs are important. Results from the interviews indicated that cost was not a reason preventing implementation; however, three main issues surfaced: (1) there was a clear breakdown of communication between different levels within the department, (2) the previously implemented wellness program failed, and (3) the department lacks voluntary participation. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["O'Halloran, Conner"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Safety, Security, and Emergency Management","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z","subjects":["Fire Department","Firefighter Heath","Firefighter Participation","Northern Ohio","Wellness Programs","Mental and Social Health","Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene","Training and Development"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2015 Conner O'Halloran"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/301","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["O'Halloran, Conner"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Safety, Security, and Emergency Management"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Fire Department","Firefighter Heath","Firefighter Participation","Northern Ohio","Wellness Programs","Mental and Social Health","Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene","Training and Development"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2015 Conner O'Halloran"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/301"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Firefighters respond to dangerous emergencies every day. The physical and mental wellness of firefighters is very important to their overall job performance. To support this, fire departments must have established, comprehensive wellness programs (International Association of Firefighters, 2008). Even with national standard recommendation of wellness programs, one does not exist in a fire department located in Northern Ohio.
The focus of this research is to explore reasons why these highly recommended wellness programs are not established. Successful establishment of a wellness program requires understanding why this fire department is hesitant or unsuccessful in implementing and maintaining a wellness program.
This research consisted of a qualitative study with employees from a single fire department. Three employees were chosen at three different levels of the fire department rank structure: entry-level, middle management, and high management. These three employees were chosen at random by the chief of the department. Employees were asked various questions about their knowledge of (a) the leading cause of firefighter fatalities, (b) awareness of wellness programs, (c) whether their department should have a wellness program, and (d) who in the department would be advocates for a wellness program.
Participants all agree that the components of the wellness programs are important. Results from the interviews indicated that cost was not a reason preventing implementation; however, three main issues surfaced: (1) there was a clear breakdown of communication between different levels within the department, (2) the previously implemented wellness program failed, and (3) the department lacks voluntary participation.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Qualitative Exploration of Firefighter Participation in Wellness Programs within a Career Fire Department in Northern Ohio"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["O'Halloran, Conner"],"dc:description.abstract":["Firefighters respond to dangerous emergencies every day. The physical and mental wellness of firefighters is very important to their overall job performance. To support this, fire departments must have established, comprehensive wellness programs (International Association of Firefighters, 2008). Even with national standard recommendation of wellness programs, one does not exist in a fire department located in Northern Ohio.
The focus of this research is to explore reasons why these highly recommended wellness programs are not established. Successful establishment of a wellness program requires understanding why this fire department is hesitant or unsuccessful in implementing and maintaining a wellness program.
This research consisted of a qualitative study with employees from a single fire department. Three employees were chosen at three different levels of the fire department rank structure: entry-level, middle management, and high management. These three employees were chosen at random by the chief of the department. Employees were asked various questions about their knowledge of (a) the leading cause of firefighter fatalities, (b) awareness of wellness programs, (c) whether their department should have a wellness program, and (d) who in the department would be advocates for a wellness program.
Participants all agree that the components of the wellness programs are important. Results from the interviews indicated that cost was not a reason preventing implementation; however, three main issues surfaced: (1) there was a clear breakdown of communication between different levels within the department, (2) the previously implemented wellness program failed, and (3) the department lacks voluntary participation.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/301"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2015 Conner O'Halloran"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Fire Department","Firefighter Heath","Firefighter Participation","Northern Ohio","Wellness Programs","Mental and Social Health","Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene","Training and Development"],"dc:title":["A Qualitative Exploration of Firefighter Participation in Wellness Programs within a Career Fire Department in Northern Ohio"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Safety, Security, and Emergency Management"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z"}