Diversity, preventive work and education-matters of health and well-being in firefighter discourse.

The aim of this study is to analyse how recurrent health hindrance themes in the firefighter discourse, identified by firefighters themselves, relate to a set of policies about diversity, preventive work and education of firefighters. The intention is further to discuss the implications of these policy initiatives and the resistance against them in terms of firefighters' health and well-being at work. Firefighters from three different rescue stations in Sweden, participated in either a focus group discussion or individual interviews.

Experiences of critical incidents among female and male firefighters.

Background: A critical incident is defined as an event stressful enough to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of an individual. Firefighters are frequently exposed to critical incidents that might have consequences for individuals and their performance in organization.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe experiences of critical incidents among female and male Swedish firefighters.

Caring for traffic accident victims: the stories of nine male police officers.

Psychological strain due to the work environment is common, especially in those occupations which involve working in critical situations. Working as a police officer seems to increase the risk of psychological problems such as symptoms of stress and post traumatic stress disorders. The aim of this study was to describe male police officers' experiences of traumatic situations when caring for victims of traffic accidents, and to reflect the results through the perspective of gender theories.