Suicide Among the Emergency Medical Systems Occupation in the United States

Vigil, Neil; Beger, Samuel; Gochenour, Kevin; Frazier, W. H.; Vadeboncoeur, Tyler; Bobrow, Bentley J.

doi:10.5811/westjem.2020.10.48742

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…This finding suggests FFs/EMTs are at higher risk of suicide compared with LEOs. Vigil and colleagues 79 found EMTs had a significantly higher mortality OR to suicide compared with non-EMTs. Furthermore, researchers also found FFs/EMTs had higher suicidal ideation and attempts compared with the general and military population.…”

Section: Suicidality Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Suicide and Differences in Attachment Styles and Resilience Among Treatment-Seeking First-Responder Subtypes

Ponder¹,

Carbajal

Whitworth

et al. 2022

J Occup Environ Med

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Objective: To identify the predictors of suicide for firefighters (FFs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and law enforcement officers (LEOs). Methods: We used baseline data from FFs/EMTs (n = 69) and LEOs (n = 81) to investigate the unique predictors for both first-responder subtypes. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis on validated assessments of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Measures of attachment, resilience, PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety, trauma history, and substance use were the independent variables in two backward stepwise regressions predicting suicide. Results: Substance use and somatic depression were significant predictors for LEOs, whereas affective depression, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, trauma history, and generalized anxiety were significant predictors for FFs/EMTs. Limitations: These data are cross-sectional and should be modeled longitudinally over the course of treatment. Conclusion: Separate constructs influence suicide for LEOs and FFs/EMTs.

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Section: Suicidality Differencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Suicide and Differences in Attachment Styles and Resilience Among Treatment-Seeking First-Responder Subtypes

Ponder¹,

Carbajal

Whitworth

et al. 2022

J Occup Environ Med

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“…Given recent findings indicating that firefighters may be at increased risk for death by suicide (Vigil et al, 2021) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Stanley et al, 2015), there is an urgent need to implement evidence-based suicide prevention programs within fire services that are feasible, acceptable, and accessible. One such approach is the Safety Planning Intervention (SPI; Stanley & Brown, 2012).…”

Section: The Safety Planning Intervention (Spi)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Safety Planning Intervention (Spi)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the true prevalence of death by suicide and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among firefighters remains unknown (Gist et al, 2011; Gulliver et al, 2016), recent research suggests that firefighters are likely at increased risk relative to individuals in the general population (e.g., Stanley et al, 2015; Vigil et al, 2021). For example, utilizing death records, Vigil et al (2021) found that the suicide rate for firefighters was significantly higher rate than that for individuals in the general population. Similarly, in an online convenience sample of firefighters, Stanley et al (2015) reported rates of suicidal ideation (46.8%), suicide plans (19.2%), and suicide attempts (15.5%) that were substantially higher than general population rates (e.g., Nock et al, 2008).…”

Section: The Safety Planning Intervention (Spi)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and Implementation of Web-Based Safety Planning Intervention Training for Firefighter Peer Support Specialists

Kimbrel,

Aho,

Neal

et al. 2024

Crisis

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Background: Recent findings indicate that firefighters may be at increased risk for death by suicide; however, there has been only limited suicide prevention work in fire service to date. Aim: The objective of this program evaluation project was to develop and evaluate a web-based Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) training course for firefighter peer support specialists. Method: Peer support specialists who completed the web-based SPI training were administered evaluation questionnaires before the training and then again at a 3-month follow-up assessment. Results: A total of 213 peer support specialists completed the SPI training. Most participants took 2–3 h to complete the training. Participants generally reported high levels of satisfaction with the course, with the vast majority (94.4%) indicating they would recommend it to their peers. Course completers also demonstrated significant gains in SPI knowledge and self-efficacy from baseline to 3-month follow-up (all p’s < .001). Moreover, the percentage of participants who reported completing a safety plan with someone they suspected at being of risk for suicide increased approximately 7-fold from baseline (3.5%) to 3-month follow-up (25.2%; p < .001). Participants further reported that 97.6% of the safety plans that they completed resulted in a positive outcome. Limitations: This was a program evaluation project that did not include a control group. Thus, causality cannot be inferred. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that web-based SPI training is a feasible and scalable approach for training peer support specialists to deliver the SPI to at-risk individuals.

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“…Several recent proportionate mortality studies have compared the proportion of first responder deaths due to suicide with that of other occupations. Vigil et al (2021), who examined death records from 26 states, found that suicide was a much more common cause of death for firefighters compared with U.S. workers on average. And Violanti, Robinson, and Shen (2013), who analyzed data from 23 states, also found that suicide is a more common cause of death for police officers (including correctional officers) compared with U.S. workers on average.…”

Section: Suicidementioning

confidence: 99%

Posttraumatic Stress in California's Workers' Compensation System: A Study of Mental Health Presumptions for Firefighters and Peace Officers Under Senate Bill 542

Quigley¹,

Dworsky²,

Qureshi³

et al. 2021

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This report describes work undertaken by the RAND Corporation for the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) in the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). The goal of this study is to evaluate mental health conditions or illnesses among California's firefighters and peace officers to inform the policy debate surrounding the rebuttable presumption that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders is work-related and thus eligible for full workers' compensation benefits. The main tasks of the mixed-methods evaluation are to (1) produce prevalence estimates and conduct claims analysis and cost estimations and (2) document the experiences of firefighters and peace officers seeking mental health care in the workers' compensation system and capture the perspectives of mental health providers, claims administrators, and department leaders in urban and rural departments across Northern and Southern California. This research builds directly on a number of past RAND studies for DIR and CHSWC, including several recent studies on workers' compensation issues primarily affecting firefighters, peace officers, and other public safety workers. Although this study focused on California, our findings may be of interest to state policymakers throughout the country who are considering adoption of, or modifications to, laws establishing similar mental health presumptions for public safety workers. RAND Community Health and Environmental Policy ProgramRAND Social and Economic Well-Being is a division of the RAND Corporation that seeks to actively improve the health and the social and economic well-being of populations and communities throughout the world. This research was conducted in the Community Health and Environmental Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being. The program focuses on such topics as infrastructure, science and technology, community design, community health promotion, migration and population dynamics, transportation, energy, and climate and the environment, as well as other policy concerns that are influenced by the natural and built environment, technology, and community organizations and institutions that affect well-being. For more information, email

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Suicide Among the Emergency Medical Systems Occupation in the United States

Cited by 10 publications

References 40 publications

Predictors of Suicide and Differences in Attachment Styles and Resilience Among Treatment-Seeking First-Responder Subtypes

Predictors of Suicide and Differences in Attachment Styles and Resilience Among Treatment-Seeking First-Responder Subtypes

Development and Implementation of Web-Based Safety Planning Intervention Training for Firefighter Peer Support Specialists

Posttraumatic Stress in California's Workers' Compensation System: A Study of Mental Health Presumptions for Firefighters and Peace Officers Under Senate Bill 542

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