Using Focus Groups to Identify Nutrition Education Needs and Implementation Strategies for the Wildland Firefighter

Abstract

Wildland firefighters (WLFFs) often participate in sustained, mental and physical efforts throughout the work shift, resulting in high daily total energy expenditure. Meeting nutritional needs is necessary for the health and well-being of WLFFs. However, nutrition education is limited in standardized training. Objectives The aims of the study are to describe the current state, identify topics of importance, and suggest implementation strategies for tailored nutrition education for the WLFFs. Methods Focus groups were conducted and survey data was collected to gather qualitative and quantitative data from a sample of WLFFs. Constant comparative strategy was used to generate themes from transcripts. Results Wildland firefighters showed interest in early-introduced, multimodal, and specific nutrition education tailored to the demands of the WLFF. Conclusions: Study findings provide nutrition topics of interest and importance to WLFFs and may be used to develop educational materials.