Resource Tag: FIRST RESPONDERS

Background: In 2022, suicide was the second leading cause of external death in Spain (the first among young people aged 15–29 years). This study aims to analyze the presence of myths among emergency first responders and identify the most prevalent false beliefs among them. Methods: The research is a observational and descriptive study carried out […]

Background: First responders (e.g., emergency medical technicians, firefighters) may be at higher suicide risk than the general population due to frequent exposure to suicidal behaviors of others. Aims: We aimed to confirm the factor structure, scale reliability, and convergent validity of a new measure of suicidal exposure, the Suicidal Behaviors Exposure Scale, in first responders. Method: Using a cross-sectional web-based […]

Objective: The present study seeks to determine differences in lifetime suicidal ideation, dispositional capability, acquired capability, and practical capability among those who have and have not served as first responders, and among subgroups of first responders. Methods: Data were collected as part of a large online (n = 3,500) study seeking to understand firearm ownership in the United […]

Aim This study explored the extent to which emotion regulation dimensions statistically mediate the association between sleep disturbance and suicide risk among firefighters. Method Participants were 865 firefighters working for a fire department in an urban area in the southern U.S. Bootstrapping was used to test the indirect effects of sleep disturbance on suicide risk […]

Background Even though the traditional focus in emergency care is on life-threatening medical crisis, ambulance clinicians frequently encounter patients with mental illness, including suicidal ideation. A suicide is preceded by a complex process where most of the suicidal ideation is invisible to others. However, as most patients seek healthcare in the year before suicide, ambulance […]

Background and Objectives Much of the research surrounding firefighter health has concerned the hazards intuitively associated with the occupation, such as physical, thermal, and chemical risks. However, an additional aspect of their work environment, psychosocial stressors, has begun to attract a growing level of attention. Work-related psychosocial stress may best be described as mental and […]

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the time trends of suicide attempts assisted by the Fire Department of the Military Police of the State of São Paulo (Corpo de Bombeiros da Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo —  CBPMESP) from 2017 to 2021, between sexes. Methods: This is an ecological study of 11,435 suicide […]

Introduction First responders are routinely and regularly exposed to traumatic events that can clinically manifest with a symptom constellation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Methods We used network analysis to examine baseline data from treatment seeking first responders (n = 308) to examine the interrelatedness of those constructs, including a measure of resilience. We […]

Background: Bystanders can play a key role in preventing railway suicides by taking direct action or by raising an alarm. Aims: The study investigated in this context: (1) the prevalence of preventative actions by bystanders; (2) the relationship, if any, between first-hand preventions by bystanders and the degree of ambiguity around the imminence of danger; and (3) the […]

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 […]

This update of our White Paper published in 2018 is intended to keep the issue of mental health of first responders in the focus of public attention and facilitate access to services, programs, and resources for all members of this group. The Ruderman White Paper Update on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders  

Exposure to a suicide carries risks for loss survivors including significant and long-standing emotional distress. Early responders play a critical role in shaping survivors’ experience and trajectory for seeking support services. Yet, few prior studies explore the nuances of early responders’ interactions with loss survivors. The current study explored suicide-bereaved adults’ experiences with early responders […]

Suicide is ranked as one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Over 40,000 individuals die by suicide each year (Stanley, Hom, & Joiner, 2016; Vigil et al, 2021), and, in 2020, it was ranked in the top 9 causes of death for all ages (10-64), and second for those 10-14 and […]

Background A necessary shift from in-person to remote delivery of psychotherapy (eg, teletherapy, eHealth, videoconferencing) has occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A corollary benefit is a potential fit in terms of the need for equitable and timely access to mental health services in remote and rural locations. Owing to COVID-19, there may be an […]

Police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians and paramedics are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTE) in their work as public safety personnel (PSP). PTE are a risk factor for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. This systematic rapid scoping review summarizes evaluation research on psychosocial interventions to reduce the negative […]

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between emotional exhaustion and suicide risk in emergency responders. Participants included 643 actively employed emergency responders who responded to an online research based survey. Participants were administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1981) and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire (SBQ-R; Osman, Bagge, Gutierrez, Konick, […]

Substantial media attention has focused on suicide among Canadian Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police). The attention has raised significant concerns about the mental health impact of public safety service, as well as interest in the correlates for risk of suicide. There have only been two published studies assessing lifetime […]

Background: There is growing evidence to suggest that suggest that Ambulance Service (AS) staff may be at increased risk for suicide, however few studies have explored risk factors within this occupational group. Aim: To investigate factors commonly associated with ambulance staff suicides. Method: Eleven AS trusts across England and Wales (UK) were asked to return […]

These guidelines provide a unified, far-reaching blueprint for the development of suicide postvention at all levels of U.S. society. Populations: Racial and Ethnic Groups, Attempt Survivors and Other People with Lived Experience, Survivors of Suicide Loss Settings: Schools, Health Care, Behavioral Health Care, Outpatient Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment, Colleges and Universities, Faith Communities, Family Members and Caregivers, First Responders About Suicide: Behavioral Health Disorders, Depression/Bipolar, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Substance […]

Effective response by first responders in the immediate aftermath of a suicide death can play a critical role in reducing risk and promoting healing for family, friends, and the larger community by helping people who are newly bereaved to cope with the immediate crisis, created by the death. They also can lay the foundation for […]

First responders routinely experience work-related events that meet the definition of a traumatic stressor. Despite the high exposure to traumatic events, prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are relatively low. This discrepancy points to the potential value of identifying factors that distinguish those traumatic stressors that produce ongoing traumatic stress symptoms from those that […]

The unparalleled bravery of first responders is brought to the attention of the public following huge and tragic events, such as the recent incidents of terror in Parkland, Las Vegas, Orlando, Sandy Hook, and more. However, public discourse seldom acknowledges the fact that first responders witness tragedy and horror regularly, if not daily. Constant exposure to […]

Objective Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are associated with increased suicide risk. Anxiety sensitivity (AS)—the fear of anxiety-related sensations—is both a vulnerability factor for and consequence of PTSD symptoms. AS also predicts suicide risk. To our knowledge, no study has examined whether AS concerns account for the association between PTSD symptoms and suicide risk. Method […]