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Retired Firefighters Health and Wellness Research Project

Firefighters provide critical services to our communities. However, due to the dangerous and strenuous nature of their jobs, they experience one of the highest rates of occupational injuries that have the potential to significantly affect their quality of life during retirement.  We believe that studying the health status of retired firefighters can be a valuable and untapped resource to help identify improvements in workplace health and safety for current firefighters.

This website is created for and inspired by firefighters to briefly discuss our retired firefighter project.  The overall objective of this project is to examine the overall health of retired career firefighters to 1) help identify the current needs of retirees, and 2) inform strategies to improve the health and safety of current active firefighters.

This is a collaborative project between researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Utah State University. Funding for this project was provided by the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (#T42OH008673). This project was approved by the UNC Institutional Review Board (# 19-3337).

 

Who’s eligible? Any retired U.S. structural career firefighter is encouraged to participate.

What does the survey ask? We ask questions regarding your current health status and behaviors, in addition to your previous work as a firefighter.

How long will it take to complete? The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete.

Any compensation? For your participation, you may wish to be included in a drawing in which you could win a $20 gift cards (30 total gift cards will be distributed).

Will my responses be secure?  The survey is completely anonymous.  None of your responses will be linked to your identity.

Can I take this on my mobile device?  No, this survey is designed to be completed on a computer or tablet, not your mobile phone.

Study Survey Link: https://unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eFgFQcrf8kG3tkx

Contact: UNC-Firefighter-Research@unc.edu

Thank you! – We sincerely thank the fire departments and state, regional, and national firefighter organizations across the U.S. for their support of this project. We also thank the select firefighters (active and retired) who provided critical feedback on our survey.

 

 

 

(Click on icons to visit the organizations below)

 

 

 

For any IRB related questions, please call 919-966-3113.