Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada

R. Nicholas Carleton; Tracie O. Afifi; Sarah Turner; Tamara Taillieu; Sophie Duranceau; Daniel M. LeBouthillier; Jitender Sareen; Rose Ricciardelli; Renee S. MacPhee; Dianne Groll; Kadie Hozempa; Alain Brunet; John R. Weekes; Curt T. Griffiths; Kelly J. Abrams; Nicholas A. Jones; Shadi Beshai; Heidi A. Cramm; Keith S. Dobson; Simon Hatcher; Terence M. Keane; Sherry H. Stewart; Gordon J. G. Asmundson

doi:10.1177/0706743717723825

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Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada

R. Nicholas Carleton, Tracie O. Afifi, Sarah Turner, Tamara Taillieu, Sophie Duranceau, Daniel M. LeBouthillier, Jitender Sareen, Rose Ricciardelli, Renee S. MacPhee, Dianne Groll, …

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.63(1), pp.54-64

2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743717723825

PMID: 28845686

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Abstract

Mental disorders

First responders

Public safety personnel

Operational stress injuries

Posttraumatic stress disorder

Background: Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and severities for Canadian PSP. Methods: An online survey was made available in English or French from September 2016 to January 2017. The survey assessed current symptoms, and participation was solicited from national PSP agencies and advocacy groups. Estimates were derived using well-validated screening measures. Results: There were 5813 participants (32.5% women) who were grouped into 6 categories (i.e., call center operators/dispatchers, correctional workers, firefighters, municipal/provincial police, paramedics, Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Substantial proportions of participants reported current symptoms consistent with 1 (i.e., 15.1%) or more (i.e., 26.7%) mental disorders based on the screening measures. There were significant differences across PSP categories with respect to proportions screening positive based on each measure. Interpretation: The estimated proportion of PSP reporting current symptom clusters consistent with 1 or more mental disorders appears higher than previously published estimates for the general population; however, direct comparisons are impossible because of methodological differences. The available data suggest that Canadian PSP experience substantial and heterogeneous difficulties with mental health and underscore the need for a rigorous epidemiologic study and category-specific solutions.

Details

Title: Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada
Authors: R. Nicholas Carleton (Corresponding Author) - University of Regina
Tracie O. Afifi - University of Manitoba
Sarah Turner - University of Manitoba
Tamara Taillieu - University of Manitoba
Sophie Duranceau - University of Regina
Daniel M. LeBouthillier - University of Regina
Jitender Sareen - University of Manitoba
Rose Ricciardelli - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Renee S. MacPhee - Wilfrid Laurier University
Dianne Groll - Queen's University
Kadie Hozempa - University of Regina
Alain Brunet - Douglas Mental Health University Institute
John R. Weekes - Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
Curt T. Griffiths - Simon Fraser University
Kelly J. Abrams - Canadian Hlth Informat Management Assoc, Regina, SK, Canada
Nicholas A. Jones - University of Regina
Shadi Beshai - University of Regina
Heidi A. Cramm - Queen's University
Keith S. Dobson - University of Calgary
Simon Hatcher - University of Ottawa
Terence M. Keane - National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Sherry H. Stewart - Dalhousie University
Gordon J. G. Asmundson - University of Regina
Publication details: The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.63(1), pp.54-64
Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc.
Date published: 2018
DOI: 10.1177/0706743717723825
ISSN: 1497-0015; 0706-7437
PMID: 28845686
Copyright note: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Grant note: R.Nicholas Carleton’s research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through a New Investigator Award (FRN: 13666). Tracie O. Afifi’s research is supported by a CIHR New Investigator Award and Foundation Scheme Award. This research was funded in part by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness through the Policy Development Contribution Program.
Organisation Unit: Thompson Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991105740702621
Output Type: Journal article