Unique Job Roles and Mental Health Risk Factors Among Emergency Dispatchers

Abstract

Emergency medical, fire, and police dispatchers are often called the first, first responders. Working in emergency communication centers, they are the first point of contact with medical, fire, and law enforcement resources and the first point of access to public health and public safety systems for millions of callers each year. Emergency dispatchers face unique risks to their mental health, and the roles and responsibilities specific to their work produce stressors not synonymous with those encountered by other first responders and emergency workers. Yet relatively little research has been done to understand the specific mental health concerns of this vital and often overlooked segment of the emergency services profession. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the job-specific tasks and work characteristics that make the emergency dispatcher's job qualitatively different from the jobs of other emergency workers and first responders, then discuss the unique mental health risks associated with their work.