Prevalence and factors associated with insomnia among firefighting personnel in Dhaka division, Bangladesh

Abstract Background Firefighting is a challenging and stressful job, and firefighters face many adverse conditions while performing their duties. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of insomnia among firefighting staff working in the Dhaka division of Bangladesh and identify the factors contributing to the severity of insomnia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among a total of 406 employees of the Department of Fire Service & Civil Defense (FSCD) working in randomly selected nine districts of the Dhaka division using a simple random sampling (SRS) technique. Data were collected from the firefighting staff through face-to-face interviews. The severity of insomnia was assessed during the past 2 weeks using the Bangla version of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). Multivariable ordinal logistic regression (OLR) was used to identify the factors associated with insomnia among the fire service staff. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 17. Results Among the 406 participants, nearly one-fourth (22.9%) suffered from moderate to severe insomnia. The results of the multivariable regression analyses showed that the firefighting staff aged 30 to 45 years (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.075 to 3.663) and above 45 years (AOR: 4.3, 95% CI: 1.386 to 13.039)had higher odds of insomnia than those aged below 30 years. The participants who conducted over 1,000 rescue operations had higher odds of experiencing insomnia compared to their colleagues who conducted fewer than 500 rescue operations (AOR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.451 to 4.529). The firefighting staff with severe (AOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.325 to 4.551) and potentially dangerous (AOR: 3.9, 95% CI: 1.928 to 8.012) levels of workplace stress had two 2times higher odds of suffering from insomnia compared to those with minimal/mild levels of workplace stress. Furthermore, those who reported moderate (AOR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.314 to 3.083) and severe (AOR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.558 to 4.506) levels of PTSD were more likely to suffer from insomnia than their counterparts who reported minimal/mild levels of PTSD. Conclusions The present study revealed that nearly one-fourth of firefighting staff working in the Dhaka division experienced moderate to severe insomnia. Several factors, including age, the number of rescue operations, workplace stress, PTSD, and chronic diseases. The findings of this study highlight the need for sleep health promotion programs in firefighting staff.