Study of Work Ability Index (WAI) and its association with demographic characteristics among Firefighters

Background and Aim: Assessing the workability of employees is very important, and firefighting is one of the critical jobs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the Work Ability Index (WAI), and identify some effective factors among firefighters. Methods: This cross-sectional study carried out with participation of 101 firefighters in Zahedan, Iran in 2018. Subjects were included in the study by census method. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire (demographic information and WAI items), and data analysis was performed using SPSS 24. Results: The mean of age and work experience of the subjects were 34.18±6.70 and 8.47±6.79 years, respectively. Only 18 individuals (17.8%) were single, and most of them exercised at least once a week. The mean score of WAI was 44.33±3.56 and most of the subjects were in the excellent range. With increasing age and work experience, WAI decreased, and there was also a significant relationship between marital status and weekly exercise with WAI. Conclusions: In general, the condition of the firefighters was favorable in terms of workability. However, due to the relationship between personal characteristics and WAI, it is necessary to adjust the duties of older people with more work experience.