title: Physical and psychological determinants of injury in Ontario forest firefighters.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Forest firefighters are faced with multiple physical and psychological challenges as a result of their duties. Little is known about the determinants of injury among these workers. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) records detailed information on two mutually exclusive types of workplace injury: First aid (self-reported) and Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB, i.e. received medical attention).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the contributions of physical and psychological factors on the likelihood of injury among forest firefighters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were male and female forest firefighters aged between 18 and 65. Data were collected using two self-administered instruments: The NEO Personality Inventory and the Job Stress Survey. Secondary data were collected from the OMNR AFFES and data were analysed by way of multivariate statistical procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 252 participants. Those who were older, had a history of injury, had high scores for the personality construct of Neuroticism or low scores for the Openness construct were significantly more likely to incur a first aid injury, while those with high experience levels were significantly less likely to incur injury (P < 0.05). High job stress was the only significant predictor of WSIB injury (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  First aid and WSIB injuries in the OMNR AFFES were quite distinct phenomena and different factors need consideration in their prediction. It is recommended that managers and decision-makers in this field consider factors such as job stress, personality and the prior occurrence of injuries in their assessment of risk.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Kinetics, Laurentian University Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, hy_gordon@laurentian.ca.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: School of Human Kinetics, Laurentian University, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Laurentian University, Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larivière
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D061388:Firefighters / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D065928:Forests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016272:Occupational Health; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D010808:Physical Examination; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Forest firefighters; occupational health and safety; risk prediction.