Relationship between on duty and occupational stress in mine emergency rescuers

Objective To investigate the relationship between on duty and occupational stress among mine emergency rescuers.Methods The rescuers in national mine emergency base were selected with cluster sampling.Occupational stressors，relief factors and stress reactions were measured by using the General Job Stress Qestionnaire.Covariance was used for testing the difference among the groups with different score of occupational stress.Results The mean age of the 568 rescuers was 36.49±9.08 years;the average duration of service was 10.57±7.86 years;and the average frequency of on duty was 1.87±2.28 per month.Totally 143 rescuers(25.2%)had no experience of on duty;326 rescuers(57.4%)had on duty 1-3 times per month;and 99 rescuers(17.4%)had on duty more than 3 times per month.Compared to the rescuers without on duty experience or with on duty >3 times per month,the rescuers with on duty 1-3 times per month had the highest scores for using technology(8.60±2.70),job role(48.83±10.02),job monotonicity(8.58±2.61),superior support(8.47±3.28),colleague support(7.92±2.82),psychosomatic symptoms(29.60±11.27),and daily life stress(7.40±2.58).The rescuers with on duty 1-3 times per month had the lowest scores for job satisfaction(52.35±11.19)and psychological health(50.07±9.31).Conclusion The number of on duty per month influence occupational stress and on duty 1-3 times per month has the greatest influence on occupational stress among mine emergency rescuers.