[Development of a stressor scale for emergency dispatchers in fire service: Reliability and validity assessment]

Command-and-control operations in fire services are central in disaster response, encompassing emergency call handling and unit deployment management. Previous studies have indicated that emergency call-related duties impose heavy physical and psychological workloads. However, stressors encountered in command-and-control operations in Japanese fire services remain unclear. Therefore, this study identified the components of stressors specific to command-and-control operations in fire services and developed a Stressor Scale for Emergency Dispatchers. The reliability and validity of the scale were examined.

Ten personnel with experience in command-and-control operations in fire services were interviewed regarding work stressors. Accordingly, a preliminary draft of the Stressor Scale for Emergency Dispatchers was created. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was conducted at participating fire services and firefighting command centers. We surveyed 400 personnel (219 valid responses), whose primary duties involved command-and-control operations in fire services or firefighting command centers. Exploratory factor analysis was implemented to confirm the scale's factor structure. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficients, and validity was examined using correlation analyses with related concepts, including occupational stressors, suppression, and stress responses.

Exploratory factor analysis revealed that stressors specific to command-and-control operations in fire services involved four factors; "high workload content," "coordination failure," "response to callers," and "difficulty resting." Each factor demonstrated sufficient Cronbach's alpha. Regarding validity, all the factors showed significant positive correlations with occupational stressors and stress responses. Additionally, suppression was only significantly correlated with "response to callers."

This study clarified the stressors specific to command-and-control operations in fire services. The newly developed Stressor Scale for Emergency Dispatchers was reliable and valid.