Firefighter Fitness, Coronary Heart Disease, and Sudden Cardiac Death Risk.

Objective: To determine the roles physical fitness, coronary heart disease, and sudden cardiac death risk play in firefighter culture, via an emic (insider's) perspective within the culture of the fire service. Methods: Key informant interviews and focus group discussions with full-time, acculturated firefighters, framed within a social ecological framework. Results: Physical fitness is a complex, cultural construct, based on functional capacity and management normative expectations. Coronary heart disease is not a culturally relevant reason for workplace fitness program adherence. Conclusions: Fitness interventions must culturally adapt to the unique nature of the fire service, emphasizing functional capacity, crew dependability, and fitness/well-being strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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