Public Safety Personnel Research Articles

Mitigating Psychological Symptoms in Public Safety Personnel Through Supportive Text Messaging Program

IntroductionPublic safety personnel (PSPs) often suffer from mental health issues due to the challenging and intricate nature of their work. Various barriers may prevent them from seeking necessary support and treatment. Therefore, implementing innovative and cost-effective interventions can potentially enhance the mental well-being of PSPs.ObjectivesThe study sought to assess the influence of the Text4PTSI program on symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress, as well as the resilience of public safety personnel after six months of receiving supportive text message intervention.Methods PSP subscribed to the Text4PTSI program and received daily supportive l SMS text messages for six months. Participants were invited to complete standardized self-rated web-based questionnaires to assess depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and resilience symptoms measured on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), respectively. The assessment of mental health conditions was conducted at enrolment, six weeks, three months, and six months after enrollment.Results One hundred and thirty-one subscribers participated in the Text4PTSI program. A total of 31 participants completed the baseline survey, and 107 total surveys were recorded at all follow-up time points. The baseline prevalence of likely major depressive disorder (MDD) was 47.1%, likely generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was 37.5%, low resilience was 22.2%, and likely PTSD was 13.3%. At six months post-intervention, the prevalence of psychological conditions. There was a decrease in the mean scores on the PHQ-9, GAD-7, PCL-C, and the BRS from baseline to post-intervention by 25.8%, 24.7%, 9.5%, and 0.3%, respectively. However, the decrease was only statistically significant for the mean change in GAD-7 scores with a low effect size (t (15) = 2.73, p = 0.02).ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest a reduction in the prevalence of likely MDD as well as the severity of anxiety symptoms from baseline to post-intervention for subscribers of the Text4PTSI program. The program has the potential to complement existing services, aiding in mental health support for public safety personnel.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

PSPNET Families Wellbeing Hub: A preliminary evaluation of online upstream supports for public safety personnel families

LAY SUMMARY Public safety personnel (PSP) families face unique challenges tied to the job’s occupational risks and requirements. These challenges can often spill over into home life, affecting the day-to-day unfolding of schedules, sleep, mood, activities, and relationships. The impact of this spillover into family life has not received much attention in research or practice. What makes PSP family life unique is the combination of logistics, risks, and identities associated with the job. The project team created an online well-being hub tailored to those factors for PSP families. The website offers information pages, strategy and skill-building exercises, and a self-directed, Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy course. The hub was launched in December 2022, and the project team wanted to gauge its impact. This article contains a preliminary assessment of Google Analytics, social media posts, and semi-structured interviews. Findings show the site resonates with PSP family members’ experiences, that there is a need for the site, and that users find connection to the content. The hub will continue to be refined based on feedback, and the team will do more research about its impacts.

Sex-Based Differences in Mental Health Service Use Between Canadian Veterans and Non-Veterans Residing in Ontario.

Sex and gender may play a role in the association between occupational experiences and the mental health (MH) of defence and public safety personnel. This report summarizes the findings of three studies exploring sex-based differences in MH service use between Veterans and non-Veterans in Ontario. Female Veterans had significantly higher rates of MH-related physician visits, emergency department visits and hospitalizations compared to female non-Veterans. These findings impart useful information for individuals or organizations with the ability to influence healthcare policy, planning and delivery for the Canadian defence and public safety sectors.

A short version of the Opening Minds Scale–Workplace Attitudes: Factor structure and factorial validity in a sample of Canadian public safety personnel.

A short version of the Opening Minds Scale–Workplace Attitudes: Factor structure and factorial validity in a sample of Canadian public safety personnel.

Exploring the Occupational Lifestyle Experiences of the Families of Public Safety Personnel.

Public safety personnel, including first responders, are regularly exposed to physical, social, and psychological risks and occupational requirements. These risks and requirements extend beyond the employee and may also impact the families (for example, work-family conflict, compassion fatigue). Despite recent attention directed at the population's wellness, considerably less attention is directed towards the family. This review investigates how the risks and requirements associated with these occupations affect families' lives and experiences, and correspondingly, how families respond and adapt to these risks. In the current qualitative review, we sought to identify and describe the lifestyle experiences of public safety families as they navigate the occupational risks and requirements of public safety work. The inclusion criteria resulted in an analysis of 18 articles, representing only police (n = 11), paramedics (n = 7), and firefighting (n = 10) sectors. We identified and described the experiences of public safety families both by occupation and familial role. Shared familial themes across occupational groups included 'Worry', 'Communication', 'Where do I turn', 'Are they okay', 'Serving alongside', and '(Over)Protective'. However, distinct themes also emerged between different occupational groups and family configurations. Themes prevalent amongst primarily children of police included: 'Worry', 'Let's Laugh Instead', '(Over)Protective', and 'I'm not the Police, my Parent is!'. Experiences differed if the family contained on serving public safety personnel or multiple. We identified the shared and unique occupational experiences of public safety families. This review normalizes these experiences and emphasizes the need to develop initiatives to improve the well-being of families and safety employees.

Mental health disorder symptoms among serving Royal Canadian Mounted Police

ABSTRACT The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) experience extraordinary exposures to diverse occupational stressors, potentially exacerbated by systemic stressors (e.g., public calls for pervasive organizational changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters). The current study was designed to assess the mental health of currently serving RCMP (n = 1348) who completed an online survey from June 2022 to February 2023. The positive screening prevalence for any mental health disorder was higher (ps<.05) for current participants (64.7%) than previously reported for RCMP members (50.2%), diverse public safety personnel (44.5%), and the general population diagnostic prevalence (10.1%). Women were less likely (ps<.05) to screen positive for posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder than men participants. RCMP participants evidenced substantially more mental health challenges than previous assessments, underscoring urgent and growing needs for proactive, ongoing, evidence-based supports for RCMP mental health, at the individual, organizational, and structural levels.

FD/FR family: Functional disconnection and reconnection in public safety personnel families

AbstractThis paper addresses the growing recognition of occupational stressors impacting the mental health of public safety personnel (PSP) and their families. While numerous programs support PSP well‐being, limited attention is given to family members, who navigate increased worry, social isolation, and the challenge of supporting a psychologically injured spouse. Drawing from the functional disconnection/functional reconnection (FD/FR) framework, this paper introduces FD/FR family—a proactive model tailored to PSP families. Rooted in Stoicism, this innovative adaptation extends the application of FD/FR concepts to benefit not only PSP members but also their families. FD/FR family advocates temporarily setting aside personal reactions and improving emotional processing to enhance communication, flexibility, and mitigate vicarious trauma and mental health deterioration. This paper offers PSP family‐specific examples and urges future research to identify essential FD/FR components accepted by both PSP and their families.

Web-Based Mindfulness Meditation as an Adjunct to Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Public Safety Personnel: Mixed Methods Feasibility Evaluation Study.

Public safety personnel (PSP) are individuals who work to ensure the safety and security of communities (eg, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, and police officers). PSP have a high risk of developing mental disorders and face unique barriers to traditional mental health treatments. The PSP Wellbeing Course is a transdiagnostic, internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) course tailored to assist PSP with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The initial course outcomes are promising, but some clients report some challenges with learning skills and recommend adding additional resources. Mindfulness meditations, which help people to experience the world and their reactions to the world in open and nonjudgmental ways, may complement the existing PSP Wellbeing Course. This study aims to examine the feasibility of mindfulness meditations in iCBT tailored for PSP. Information was gathered to evaluate engagement and client experiences with mindfulness meditations, symptom change, and the relationship between mindfulness meditation use and symptom change. A mixed methods study was conducted on PSP enrolled in the PSP Wellbeing Course who were offered 5 mindfulness meditations during the program (ie, 1/lesson). Clients completed questionnaires on depression, anxiety, PTSD, anger, insomnia, resilience, and mindfulness at pretreatment and at 8 weeks; an 8-week treatment satisfaction questionnaire; and brief weekly measures of mindfulness meditation engagement. We used paired sample t tests (2-tailed) to assess changes in outcomes over time and partial correlations to assess whether mindfulness meditation use predicted outcomes at posttreatment. A total of 12 clients were interviewed about their perceptions of the mindfulness meditations, and interviews were analyzed using directed content analysis. Among the 40 clients enrolled, 27 (68%) reported using the mindfulness meditations, practicing for an average of 4.8 (SD 8.1) minutes each week. Most interviewees described the mindfulness meditations as beneficial but also reported challenges, such as discomfort while sitting with their feelings. Clients provided suggestions for better integration of mindfulness into iCBT. Overall, clients who completed the PSP Wellbeing Course with mindfulness meditations experienced statistically significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety (P=.001), depression (P=.001), PTSD (P=.001), and anger (P=.001) but not insomnia (P=.02). Clients also experienced improvements in resilience (P=.01) and mindfulness (P=.001). Self-reported time spent meditating was not associated with changes in symptoms over time. This study provides new insight into the integration of mindfulness meditations with iCBT for PSP. It demonstrates the partial feasibility of adding mindfulness meditations to iCBT, revealing that some, but not all, PSP engaged with the meditations and reported benefits. PSP reported using the mindfulness meditations inconsistently and described challenges with the meditations. Improvements can be made to better integrate mindfulness meditation into iCBT, including offering mindfulness meditation as an optional resource, providing more psychoeducation on managing challenges, and offering shorter meditations.

Examining how organizational leaders perceive internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for public safety personnel using the RE-AIM implementation framework

BackgroundWithin Canada, internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) has recently been tailored by PSPNET to meet the needs of public safety personnel (PSP) to help address high rates of mental health problems within this population. Perceptions and outcomes of ICBT among PSP are promising, but it remains unknown how PSPNET is perceived by PSP organizational leaders. It is important to assess this gap because these leaders have significant potential to influence the uptake of ICBT. MethodsIn the current study, PSP leaders (n = 10) were interviewed to examine their perceptions of PSPNET and opportunities to improve ICBT implementation. The RE-AIM evaluation framework was used to assess PSP leaders' perceptions of PSPNET in terms of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. ResultsThe results evidenced that leaders perceived PSPNET as effective in reaching and serving PSP and PSP organizations. PSP leaders reported perceiving ICBT as effectively implemented, especially for being freely offered to individual PSP and for improving PSP's access to experienced therapists specifically trained to work with PSP. Participants indicated organizations have promoted and will continue promoting PSPNET longer-term, facilitating adoption and maintenance. Factors perceived as facilitating successful service delivery included building relationships and trust with PSP organizations and general support for PSP leadership mental health initiatives. PSP leaders identified perceived areas for improving ICBT implementation (e.g., ensuring leaders have access to data on PSPNET uptake and outcomes, creating promotional videos, expanding availability of PSPNET to other provinces, offering additional options for receiving therapist support). ImplicationsOverall, the study provides insights into PSP leaders' perceptions of the implementation of ICBT among PSP and ideas for optimizing implementation efforts.

Canadian workers at risk: Removing barriers to treatment for public safety professionals (PSP)

Canadian workers at risk: Removing barriers to treatment for public safety professionals (PSP) Gregory S Anderson, from Thompson Rivers University and Helen Dragatsi, from Government of Canada speak to us about removing barriers to treatment for Canadian workers at risk. It has long been recognized that public safety personnel (PSP) experience a high risk of psychological impacts caused by traumatic events within their occupations. Such exposures have been linked to increased incidence of posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI), including anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive disorders, suicide ideation, and substance abuse. In response, most Canadian jurisdictions (provinces and territories) have adopted new workers’ compensation legislative amendments that create a presumption in favor of PSP who suffer from trauma-induced mental disorders. In these situations, the mental disorder is presumed to have been caused by the responder’s employment. These presumptive clauses facilitate access to workers’ compensation for public safety professionals (PSP) who previously had the onus of proving that their psychological impairments resulted from their work.

Occupational Therapy and Public Safety Personnel: Return to Work Practices and Experiences.

Background. Public safety personnel (PSP) are frequently exposed to psychological trauma through their work. Evidence shows that worker's compensation claims for work-related psychological injuries are on the rise for PSP. Occupational therapists increasingly provide return to work (RTW) services for this population. Purpose. To explore the therapeutic practices and personal experiences of occupational therapists working with PSP who have work-related psychological injuries. Method. This mixed methods descriptive study included a chart review of available occupational therapy client records from 2016 to 2020 for PSP with work-related psychological injuries from two Ontario companies. Additionally, a web-based self-report survey for Ontario occupational therapists providing RTW services to this same population was available from November 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022. Findings. The chart review included 31 client records and the online survey was completed by 49 Ontario occupational therapists. Therapists commonly provided services in clients' homes, workplaces, and communities, and focused on functional activities. The evidence base drawn on by therapists was not always occupation-based. Barriers to RTW included challenges with interprofessional collaboration, stigma, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications. Occupational therapists are commonly working with PSP with work-related psychological injuries and have the opportunity to contribute to the evidence base for occupational approaches to RTW.

Availability of continuous glucosemonitoring system in Hungary

Aim: The study aims to present the continuous glucose monitoring system, the operational principles of sensor technology in common parlance, the main features of devices available with social insurance support in Hungary, and the support conditions applicable to adult patients.Methodology: The work includes the current professional guideline related to the management and care of diabetic patients, the currently valid list of medical aids available with social insurance support, the list of designated institutions for ordering, and the social insurance conditions applicable to adult patients. The main features of available systems were compared by reviewing the data on the websites of companies that produce continuous glucose monitoring systems.Findings: Sensors that work in a similar or analogous way differ in a number of ways, have similar material costs, and their accuracy is not comparable. Currently, social insurance support is only available for type 1 diabetes, with its conditions not being strict but tied to regular usage. The advancement and simplification of the technology may lead to an expansion in the user base and may provide assistance in assessing the suitability of public safety and defence personnel living with diabetes.Value: The article summarises the condition system for ordering continuous glucose monitoring system with social insurance support and the main characteristics of currently available devices. It provides insight into the operational principle of the technology and new perspectives in its development.

The mental health toll of service: an examination of self-reported impacts of public safety personnel careers in a treatment-seeking population

ABSTRACT Introduction: Public safety personnel (PSP), including firefighters, paramedics, and police officers, are exposed to traumatic events as part of their day-to-day jobs. These traumatic events often result in significant stress and increase the likelihood of negative mental health outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study sought to develop an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of PSPs as related to the mental health toll of their service. Through a series of targeted focus groups, Canadian PSP were asked to provide their perspectives on the PTSD-related symptoms that resulted as a by-product of their occupational service. The DSM-5-TR PSTD criteria (A-E) provided a thematic lens to map the self-described symptomatic expression of PSP’s lived experiences. Methods: The present study employed a phenomenological focus-group approach with a treatment-seeking inpatient population of PSP. Participants included PSP from a variety of occupational backgrounds. Using semi-structured focus groups, fifty-one participants were interviewed. These focus groups were audio recorded, with consent, and transcribed verbatim. Using an interpretive phenomenological approach, emergent themes within the data were inductively developed, examined, and connected across individual cases. Results: Utilizing the primary criteria of PTSD (Criteria A-E) outlined by the DSM-5-TR, we identified qualitative themes that included exposure to a traumatic event, intrusion symptoms, avoidance symptoms, negative alterations in mood and cognition, and marked alterations in arousal and reactivity. Conclusion: PSP are exposed to extreme stressors as a daily part of their occupation and are at elevated risk of developing mental health difficulties, including PTSD. In the present study, focus groups were conducted with PSP about the mental health toll of their occupations. Their experiences mapped onto the five primary criteria of PTSD, as outlined by the DSM-5-TR. This study provides crucial descriptive information to guide mental health research aims and treatment goals for PSTD in PSP populations.

Views on the Functionality and Use of the PeerConnect App Among Public Safety Personnel: Qualitative Analysis.

Research supports that public safety personnel (PSP) are regularly exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events and occupational stress, which can compromise their well-being. To help address PSP well-being and mental health, peer support is increasingly being adopted (and developed) in PSP organizations. Peer support apps have been developed to connect the peer and peer supporter anonymously and confidentially, but little is known about their effectiveness, utility, and uptake. We designed this study to evaluate the functionality and use of the PeerConnect app, which is a vehicle for receiving and administering peer support. The app connects peers but also provides information (eg, mental health screening tools, newsfeed) to users; thus, we wanted to understand why PSP adopted or did not adopt the app and the app's perceived utility. Our intention was to determine if the app served the purpose of connectivity for PSP organizations implementing peer support. A sample of PSP (N=23) participated in an interview about why they used or did not use the app. We first surveyed participants across PSP organizations in Ontario, Canada, and at the end of the survey invited participants to participate in a follow-up interview. Of the 23 PSP interviewed, 16 were PeerConnect users and 7 were nonusers. After transcribing all audio recordings of the interviews, we used an emergent theme approach to analyze themes within and across responses. PSP largely viewed PeerConnect positively, with the Connect feature being most popular (this feature facilitated peer support), followed by the Newsfeed and Resources. App users appreciated the convenience of the app and felt the app helped reduce the stigma around peer support use and pressure on peer supporters while raising awareness of wellness. PSP who did not use the app attributed their nonuse to disinterest or uncertainty about the need for a peer support app and the web-based nature of the app. To increase app adoption, participants recommended increased communication and promotion of the app by the services and continued efforts to combat mental health stigma. We provide contextual information about a peer support app's functionality and use. Our findings demonstrate that PSP are open to the use of mental health and peer support apps, but more education is required to reduce mental health stigma. Future research should continue to evaluate peer support apps for PSP to inform their design and ensure they are fulfilling their purpose.

Factor structure and factorial invariance of the PTSD checklist for DSM-5 in public safety personnel: Results from a large and diverse sample.

Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, and police officers) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) and report posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) difficulties more frequently than the general population. The PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a commonly used measure to screen PSP for PTSD. A single previous study assessed PCL-5 factorial invariance among PSP but used a small homogenous sample. The current study evaluated factorial invariance with a large (n = 5,855) and diverse PSP sample. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (mCFAs; n = 98) were conducted using six competing factor models of the PCL-5 across seven PSP sectors, five age groups, and two gender groups. The seven-factor hybrid model of PTSD (i.e., reexperiencing, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, hyperarousal, intrusion, emotional numbing, dysphoria, dysphoric arousal, anxious arousal, anhedonia, negative affect) produced consistently superior fit across all sectors assessed and produced marginally better absolute values than the six-factor anhedonia model, supporting PCL-5 factorial invariance among PSP. The current study is the first to use a large and diverse PSP sample to assess PCL-5 factorial invariance. The results support the PCL-5 as invariant across PSP sectors, age groups, and men and women. Consistent with other studies, the seven-factor hybrid model of PTSD produced the best fit, followed closely by the six-factor anhedonia model. Future research could use structured clinical interviews to further investigate the factorial structure and invariance of PTSD symptoms among PSPs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

"We are unique": organizational stressors, peer support and attitudes toward mental health treatment among airport firefighters.

Airport firefighters are responsible for providing emergency responses to aviation incidents on a runway or in the vicinity of an airport, including airplane crashes, mass casualty events, emergency landings and many other concerns on airport grounds. While data exist on the occupational stressors of firefighters and public safety personnel in general, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the experiences of airport firefighters, particularly in relation to their organizational stressors, peer supports and attitudes toward mental health treatment. We conducted two focus groups with 10 career firefighters working at an airport in Atlantic Canada in 2019. Focus groups were recorded; the recordings were transcribed and later coded using thematic analysis, which took an inductive, iterative, narrative approach. Airport firefighters face unique challenges, and operational stressors are overshadowed by organizational stressors. Additionally, peer support is an integral aspect of coping with both organizational stressors and critical incidents. Firefighters were found to have positive attitudes toward mental health treatment in general, but several barriers still remain, such as stigma, fear of being placed on leave and fear of confidentiality breach. Specialized treatment options for public safety personnel and airport firefighters who engage in serious incidents outside of their regular duties are needed.

Applying the Theoretical Domains Framework to identify police, fire, and paramedic preferences for accessing mental health care in a First Responder Operational Stress Injury Clinic: a qualitative study.

First responders and other public safety personnel (PSP; e.g. correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators) are often exposed to events that have the potential to be psychologically traumatizing. Such exposures may contribute to poor mental health outcomes and a greater need to seek mental health care. However, a theoretically driven, structured qualitative study of barriers and facilitators of help-seeking behaviours has not yet been undertaken in this population. This study used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify and better understand critical barriers and facilitators of help-seeking and accessing mental health care for a planned First Responder Operational Stress Injury (OSI) clinic. We conducted face-to-face, one-on-one semistructured interviews with 24 first responders (11 firefighters, five paramedics, and eight police officers), recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews were analyzed using deductive content analysis. The TDF guided study design, interview content, data collection, and analysis. The most reported barriers included concerns regarding confidentiality, lack of trust, cultural competency of clinicians, lack of clarity about the availability and accessibility of services, and stigma within first responder organizations. Key themes influencing help-seeking were classified into six of the TDF's 14 theoretical domains: environmental context and resources; knowledge; social influences; social/professional role and identity; emotion; and beliefs about consequences. The results identified key actions that can be utilized to tailor interventions to encourage attendance at a First Responder OSI Clinic. Such approaches include providing transparency around confidentiality, policies to ensure greater cultural competency in all clinic staff, and clear descriptions of how to access care; routinely involving families; and addressing stigma.

Does prior law enforcement experience affect scores on preemployment psychological testing? An investigation using the MMPI-3.

Most states require that a police candidate's suitability be assessed through preemployment psychological evaluations. Given the psychological stress officers experience in the line of duty, it is possible that experienced candidates would produce scores indicating greater dysfunction on psychological testing relative to inexperienced candidates. No known research has investigated whether police candidates produce different preemployment test scores across experience levels. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature and offer data to guide evaluators' interpretation of test scores for candidates with prior law enforcement (LE) experience. We used a sample of 400 police candidates (18.5% women) evaluated for positions at several LE agencies for whom Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) scores were available. Results showed no practically meaningful differences when comparing MMPI-3 scores of candidates with no prior experience, less than 5 years of experience, and 5 or more years of experience. We also compared frequencies at which the three groups elevated MMPI-3 scales at cutoffs specified in Assessing Police and Other Public Safety Personnel Using the MMPI-3: A Practical Guide (Corey & Ben-Porath, 2022) and found minimal differences. Together, these findings indicate that MMPI-3 scores can be interpreted consistently with published guidelines regardless of a candidate's prior LE experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The impacts of leadership behaviours on the mental well-being of public safety communicators

PurposePublic safety (communicators; e.g. 9-1-1, police, fire and ambulance call-takers and dispatchers), like many other public safety personnel (e.g. police, paramedics), (re)suffer operational stress injuries (OSIs) that are too often hidden and at a prevalence higher than the general population. Unfortunately, there are very little data for OSI rates in Canadian communicators. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the only pan-Canadian study focusing on organizational culture, and its potential influence on OSIs, within the communicator context.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a 179-item online survey of Canadian communicators comprising 17 validated screenings for occupational stress injuries and symptoms and four open-ended questions relating to their agency's organizational culture. The authors thematically analysed participants' open-ended responses and their screening scores.FindingsA semi-grounded thematic approach revealed that managers and supervisors were significant contributors to negative perceptions (n = 165) of organizational culture, potentially resulting in or worsening existing OSIs. Specifically, leadership was viewed as ineffective, inconsistent, unsupportive, abusive and toxic, with limited understanding of communicator roles. Communicators described feeling devalued, particularly when leaders fail to recognize communicator OSIs, which can perpetuate stigma. Conversely, positive leaders (n = 24) were described as supportive, communicative and encouraging.Originality/valueThe findings suggest that while leadership behaviours are a key factor in employee well-being, it varies considerably across agencies, impacting treatment-seeking behaviours. The authors’ new understandings of leaders' roles in OSIs may help reduce the frequency and severity of communicator OSIs, helping ensure that emergency services are delivered to Canadians.

Workers at risk: Families serving alongside

Workers at risk: Families serving alongside Heidi Cramm, Marilyn Cox, and Deborah Norris focus on the families of public safety personnel and health care workers (PSP and HCW), plus how the risks and requirements of the job impact them. Public safety personnel (PSP) and health care workers (HCW) are dedicated to serving our communities, and that commitment can take a toll on the mental and physical well-being of both the workers and their families. Cramm, Cox, and Norris work with the Families Matter Research Group (FMRG), a large team of researchers, educators, and trainees, some of whom are PSP and HCW family members themselves. The FMRG recognizes the commitments and demands associated with public safety and healthcare work and the effects these have on family life and relationships beyond the workplace. Their primary objective is to form partnerships with families, workplaces, and other service providers to understand better the experience and needs of PSP and HCW families and promote evidence-informed programs and policies to support their health and well-being.