This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to determine the general health and wellness profile of firefighters in Zamboanga City. Purposive sampling was employed where 143 respondents consented to be part of this endeavor. Their health and wellness profile was determined through a self-administered questionnaire. Majority of the firefighters showed good mental, social, and spiritual health. In the area of physical health, majority perceived themselves to have very good (39.86%) to excellent (39.86%) health status. Despite their claimed health status, the prevalence of obesity was higher than 50% (obese 1 with 55.94%; obese 2 with 18.88%; overweight with 15.38%). Firefighters’ waist circumference (WC) was also measured to determine abdominal adiposity. Majority (55.75%) of male firefighters have ≥90 cm WC and 83.33% of female firefighters have ≥80 cm WC, which increase risks for cardiovascular events. The presence of heredo-familial diseases such as hypertension (45.45%) and diabetes mellitus (28.67%) were also noted. Their dietary habits also revealed that 81.82% have inadequate daily intake of vegetables while 44.76% have inadequate daily intake of fruits. At present, 50.35% were alcoholic beverage drinkers and 22.38% were smokers. In terms of physical activity, only 9.09% were physically inactive. For sleep quality, 28.17% have inadequate number of sleeping hours per day while 14.08% reported difficulty sleeping. In terms of health seeking behavior, 41.96% opt to self medicate themselves whenever they feel sick, 72.03% follow recommended medical screening tests, and 20.98% practice monthly breast/testicular self exams. For mental domain, majority use appropriate coping mechanisms to deal with stress. For social domain, majority (97.89%) reported good relationship with colleagues, family (88.03%) and significant other (97.18%). Finally, in the context of spiritual domain, majority were generally well in terms of spirituality but this may be attributed to the fact that respondents tend to report their answers in a way they deem to be more socially acceptable. The Civil Service Commission as the central agency of the government has issued policies about the health and wellness of government employees including firefighters. It includes “The Great Filipino Workout”, “BFP Health and Wellness Program”, implementation of Pre-employment mental and physical-medical examinations, “Policy on Working Conditions at the Workplace”, “Policy on Smoking”, and “Promotion of Good Nutrition in the Bureaucracy”. This paper concludes that existing and future health policies should be improved towards the development of health programs to the identified needs and health problems of firefighters in Zamboanga City.

Keyword: Health and wellness profile of firefighters