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Before the Fall: Support First Responders with Mental Health Crises
Thomas A. Bezruki CD.

Introduction/Background

Conclusions/Recommendations

First responders (FRs) face a variety of hazards and trauma on any
given day. A 2008 study of Mental Health (MH) and suicide showed
that police officers and firefighters are more likely to die from suicide
than from a work-related incident (Heyman et al., 2018). Increases in
MH issues, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and rates of suicide
have prompted research into what FRs need to maintain good MH
(Joyce et al., 2019).

From analysis of the research, further research into the elements of
an effective FR MH program and training is needed. While programs
such as The Working Mind (Mental Health Commission of Canada,
2022), Here For My Peer (Horan, K. et al., 2021), and the online
delivered Mental Health First Aid (Chowdhary et al., 2019) education
programs have shown to be effective ways that agencies can support
their FRs. The high rates of PTSD, self-harming behaviours and trauma
induced stresses support the need for further research.

Support and resources for the mental health well-being of first
responders have been in practice for many years. Continual
improvement by FR organizations is required if the de-stigmatization
of those seeking support is to be achieved. The purpose of the
research study is to determine if there are adequate resources for first
responders in mental health crisis and to determine how we can
improve the resources. The information gathered regarding mental
health crisis and resource availability will be utilized to support
further research on this topic. We need to minimize avoidable deaths,
mental health crisis incidents and the social consequences in these
professions.

Education and training both for FRs and for their organizations is
critical to the success of the implementation of these programs.
Further research into and more funding of program development
based on research and study results is required. For FR agencies to
address stigma appropriately, there should be a collective sense of
security, where FRs feel as though they can disclose the issues they
are experiencing, without fear of repercussions to their personal lives
and/or career. From analysis of the study, further research into the
elements of an effective FR MH program and training is required.

Methods
The research studies selection process includes specific criteria
essential to identifying what resources are currently available to
address mental health crises for FRs. Selection of the studies were
accomplished by first, examining all titles and abstracts, then
reviewing the remaining content to identify key information that
supports the research question. Some of the main inclusion criteria
were: studies conducted after 2010, peer-reviewed literature,
research-based on statistical data or surveys, subject matter that
focused on first responders, prevention, assessment, treatment,
stigma(s), peer support, exercise, training and resilience.

Results/Discussion
Overall, the studies evaluated in this paper provided a positive scope
of results in studies of pre-emptive resilience building and harm
reduction programming. As for deficiencies, there is a need for more
understanding and funding from leaders in both legislative and
departmental oversight, so that resources that FRs truly need and
require can be provided.
FRs such as police, firefighters and paramedics are exposed to
potentially traumatic stressors as expected variables of their
occupations (Rudieger, 2021). These exposures are unavoidable due
to the nature of responding to emergencies linked to psychological
distress, which many frontline workers experience on a daily basis
(Joyce et al., 2019). Increases in MH issues, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and rates of suicide have prompted research into
what FRs need to maintain good MH (Joyce et al., 2019).

The benefits of exercise are positive in most applications and could be
seen as an appropriate method of resiliency and recovery for FRs. A
key takeaway from the studies reviewed are the benefits of exercise
as a key component of maintaining a FRs mental health fitness. This
would be an excellent initiative for FRs because it not only benefits
psychological health, but also physical health, which in turn would
inherently improve work performance.

References
Chowdhary, A., Zlotnikova, V., Lucas, C., & Lonie, J. M. (2019). How do
mental health first aid ™ interventions influence patient help-seeking
behaviours? A dilemma for pharmacist mental health first aid
responders. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 15(1),
106-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.02.010
Heyman, M., Dill, J., & Douglas, R. (2018). The Ruderman white paper
on mental health and suicide of first responders (pp. 1-41). Ruderman
Family Foundation.
https://www.firefightermentalhealth.org/system/files/First%20Respo
nder%20White%20Paper_Final.pdf
Horan, K. A., Marks, M., Ruiz, J., Bowers, C., & Cunningham, A. (2021).
Here for my peer: The future of first responder mental health.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,
18(21), 11097. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111097
Joyce, S., Tan, L., Shand, F., Bryant, R. A., & Harvey, S. B. (2019). Can
resilience be measured and used to predict mental health
symptomology among first responders exposed to repeated trauma?
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 61(4), 285-292.
https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001526
Mental Health Commission of Canada (2022). Opening Minds.
https://theworkingmind.ca/working-mind#Research
Ruediger, I. (2021). Responding to first responder mental health
[Capstone Project, City University in Canada].
https://repository.cityu.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.11803/1520/Is
abelRuedigerCapstone.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y

Bachelor of Emergency and Security Management Justice Institute of British Columbia