Public safety personnel (PSP)-including border security agents, correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, and police-have elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. In its Action Plan on Posttraumatic Stress Injuries, the Government of Canada reported that many PSP are unable to access treatment for mental health problems. The Action Plan identified internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) as a treatment that can improve access to care for PSP. Nevertheless, little is known about how PSP perceive ICBT and what tailoring PSP deem important to address their needs. We conducted interviews with 126 PSP stakeholders in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Quebec to explore their perspectives on ICBT. The results confirmed that PSP face many barriers to treatment. Stigma was the most frequently cited barrier. The results also indicated that PSP have positive perceptions of ICBT; most stakeholders reported believing there is a need for ICBT tailored for PSP and that PSP would be likely to use it. Stakeholders provided valuable recommendations regarding how researchers and clinicians should design and deliver ICBT for PSP. Specifically, PSP recommended that tailored ICBT should treat a range of symptoms, address other concerns that are important to PSP, and be delivered in a flexible manner. The results indicate that PSP perceive ICBT as an appropriate treatment option to help address the high prevalence of mental health problems among Canadian PSP. These findings have helped us tailor an existing ICBT program for PSP and may help researchers tailoring interventions to PSP in other contexts. Public Significance StatementThe current results suggest Canadian public safety personnel are amenable to using internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy to address their mental health concerns. Public safety personnel identified several ways in which researchers and clinicians can tailor this innovative treatment to meet their needs. The study results are important because evidence shows that Canadian public safety personnel experience high rates of mental health problems, and many are unable to access existing services.

Background Public safety personnel (PSP) experience high rates of mental health disorders but have limited access to treatment. To improve treatment access, there is a growing interest in offering internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) to PSP. As attitudes towards ICBT can both impact and inform ICBT implementation efforts, this study examines perceptions of ICBT among PSP who viewed a poster (a commonly used method of advertising ICBT) or a poster supplemented with a story of a PSP who benefitted from ICBT. Methods Participants (N = 132) from various PSP sectors were randomly assigned to view a poster or a poster and a story. Participants then completed an online survey assessing their perceptions of ICBT using both qualitative and quantitative questions. We used a mixed-methods approach to analyze the data. Results No differences in perceptions of ICBT were identified between the conditions. Ratings of credibility, treatment expectancy, anticipated treatment adherence, and acceptability suggested that PSP had positive perceptions of ICBT. Most participants (93%) reported that they would access ICBT if they needed help with mental health concerns. Participants ranked therapist-guided ICBT as their second most preferred treatment, with psychologists ranked first. Female participants found ICBT more credible than male participants. More experienced PSP reported lower acceptability and anticipated adherence to ICBT. Conclusions The findings suggest that many PSP are likely to be receptive to ICBT even when a simple poster is used as a method of informing PSP of this treatment option. Further attention to improving the perceptions of ICBT among certain groups may be warranted.

Almost 72% of 326 women respondents considered the teaching approaches in their graduate programs effective. One meta-theme and 4 themes are described and discussed.

     Although withholding the names of homicide victims from the public is a relatively new police practice, it has proven to be controversial, with the media, legal scholars, and victim advocacy groups often opposing these policies. In order to better understand the issue of withholding names, we examined the prevalence of these practices in Canada’s largest municipal police services. These results were further explored in a series of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from 20 victim services and advocacy organizations. Analysis of the interview and survey results reveal that the key priority of the police is maintaining the integrity of their investigations, and all other issues are secondary. Although the issue of withholding information has become contentious, many of the arguments become moot, as the friends and family members of these victims often post the information related to these deaths on social media, effectively bypassing both the press and the police. Implications for policy development are discussed in light of these findings.