Respiratory Symptoms and Quality of Life in First Responders to the 2021 Forest Fires in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Sri-Based Study

Objectives: This analytical cross-sectional study aimed to investigate respiratory complaints and their associated quality of life among fire response teams following the major forest fires that occurred in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions of Turkey in August 2021. The study utilized the Severe Respiratory Insufficiency (SRI) questionnaire, a valid tool for illuminating the effects of acute smoke exposure on respiratory health and for identifying key socio-demographic factors that affect quality of life in this at-risk population. Material and Method: Data for this analytical cross-sectional study were collected using a convenience sampling method from 83 participants who responded to the August 2021 fires. A total of 148 individuals were invited, and 83 were included in the study. The data collection tool included demographic questions and the 49-item SRI questionnaire. Due to the non-normal data distribution, inter-group analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests, with effect sizes and 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI) reported. The level of statistical significance was set at (p