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http://dx.doi.org/10.5807/kjohn.2021.30.3.132

Experiences of Posttraumatic Growth in Firefighters with Repeated Traumatic Events  

Ko, Youngshim (Department of Nursing, Kyungbuk College)
Ha, Yeongmi (College of Nursing.Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing / v.30, no.3, 2021 , pp. 132-143 More about this Journal
Abstract
Purpose: The study aimed to explore experiences of the posttraumatic growth (PTG) in firefighters with repeated exposure to traumatic events. Methods: Participants were 11 firefighters from two fire departments, who had experienced more than one critical trauma events. Data were collected through personal interviews from August to October 2020 and analyzed by Colaizzi's phenomenological methods. Results: The PTG experiences were derived into four categories: 'growth in self-perception', 'rediscovery of the meaning of life', 'deep interpersonal relationships', and 'discovery of the meaning of work'. Conclusion: These findings could be used as basic information for developing PTG program for firefighters such as logo-therapy, semantic therapy, and self-disclosure intervention using expressive writing and speaking.
Keywords
Firefighters; Psychological trauma; Posttraumatic growth; Qualitative research;
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