BACKGROUND: Electrical mishaps are known to result in physical harm. Less well understood is the possibility that long-term effects could lead to emotional and cognitive issues.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate electricians' perceptions and experiences of workplace electrical accidents with an emphasis on psychological short- and long-term effects, including how contacts with healthcare providers and the workplace were regarded.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 23 male Commercial Electrician Sydney, ranging in age from 25 to 68, who had at least one electrical accident and reported continuing sensory, musculoskeletal, cognitive, or emotional symptoms. The examination of the data used qualitative content analysis.
RESULTS: Surprise, confusion, fear, worry, and rage were among the immediate emotional responses; long-term effects were also observed. It was very distressing to be in a scenario where you couldn't let go. In the aftermath, the accident's cause and issues with guilt and responsibility took center stage. It was noted that medical practitioners lacked routine and understanding regarding electrical harm, as well as inadequate medical and psychological follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: While the accident had little significance for some informants, it had a significant impact on others. Rehabilitation and return to work could be facilitated by proper handling at the workplace and from healthcare professionals, including follow-up.
Electrical mishaps can happen anywhere and to anyone, including professionals and laypeople. Thanks to safety measures, the number of fatalities in Sweden related to electrical mishaps has progressively declined over the past 50 years. Nevertheless, experienced electricians must deal with the possibility of electrical mishaps on a daily basis. Thermal burn injuries caused by direct contact with the current or an electric arc, internal neuromuscular injuries, and subsequent falls and item impacts are some of the damage mechanisms. Electrical mishaps can have immediate physical impacts, but they can also sneak up on you after a seemingly straightforward incident and have long-term effects on your health and capacity to function.
The long-term emotional and cognitive effects of electrical accidents are less well established. There have been reports of decreased mental health, psychiatric issues such sadness, anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as memory and attention impairments. Such psychological responses are clearly explained by potentially lethal situations, but it has also been suggested that the electrical current itself may cause direct brain damage. Dealing with guilt, blame, and responsibility is likewise crucial for adjusting after an accident.
Since health care professionals, as well as electricians themselves and their employers, typically focus on the initial acute physical injuries, their ignorance of the broader effects of electrical mishaps may cause them to overlook the emotional concerns. Additionally, the majority of electricians are male and operate in environments where men predominate. As a result, gender norms that value stoicism, toughness, and acceptance of risk are also in play.
The majority of earlier studies—qualitative or quantitative—on the long-term effects of electrical injuries come from specialized trauma, burn, or rehabilitation facilities. The results of such research are therefore unlikely to capture the wide range of minor and large effects that can result from an electrical accident. The demographic for the current study was drawn from lists of electricians' union members and workplace electrical accident reports as part of a larger Swedish research effort that included a questionnaire survey on electrical accidents. An assessment of sensory, motor, and cognitive function was conducted on electricians who reported persistent symptoms that they personally linked to an electrical mishap.
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