Stress Management Programs in Fire-fighters

Chronic stress at work is a public health problem increasing morbidity and mortality, especially in men. Among the men military populations, the firefighters of Paris (FFPs) are particularly exposed. To deal with this stress and to improve stress management is challenging. Psychological fitness is required to regulate emotions which improve effectiveness under stress and enhance recovery from stressful events. The heart coherence (HC) program uses feedback from a simple pulse sensor to reflect changes of the emotional/psychological state, and to learn how to reduce stress and stabilize emotions. Another kind of psychological fitness focuses on cognitive training to regulate emotions, with the use of techniques to optimize potential (TOP). The TOP consists of learning easy techniques in mental skills to improve cognitive-based problem-solving using respiration, relaxation, and visualization. Although never published in a peer-review journal, the procedure of TOP training is structured and standardized for individuals and groups, and is widely practiced in air traffic controllers, with apparently good effects. Moreover, any event can be emotionally ambiguous, providing both negative and positive outcomes. The interpretation of such ambiguity is linked with an individual's emotional state, such as anxiety or mood. Individuals with a high level of trait anxiety are likely to interpret an event negatively. However, no studies have compared the effect of HC or TOP in the perceived stress of FFPs. Nor have long-term effects of these stress management programs (SMP) been investigated. Furthermore, the influence of trait anxiety on stress levels in FFPs needs to be clarified. Finally, no trials have assessed levels of biomarkers stress following these SMP. From these observations, we hypothesized that 1) young recruits aiming to become FFPs will be particularly exposed to stress, 2) SMP will be effective in reducing perceived stress, 3) SMP will mainly benefit FFPs who ha