The hero’s human face: Analyzing firemen’s health-disease process based on virtual communities

Abstract

Few studies deal with military firemen’s work/health relationship in national literature, among which many focus only on pathological indicators and/or physical consequences, not discussing their health and life needs at work. Aiming at analyzing this relationship under a wider, humanized perspective of heroes, an exploratory and methodologically innovative study was conducted in two industry blogs. Invisible or socially little known realities concerning the investigated group’s work process were unveiled, such as precarious labor conditions, illnesses, role deviation, humiliation, and dissatisfaction. These realities show the need for acknowledging military firemen as workers who lack decent working conditions and comprehensive healthcare, particularly regarding their mental health.