Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on US Fire-Based Emergency Medical Services Responders

Abstract

After reviewing this article, readers should be able to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the safety culture, behavior and morale, levers of well-being, and well-being outcomes in the US fire and rescue service; and describe the trends observed in safety culture, behavior and morale, levers of well-being, and well-being outcomes in the US fire and rescue service during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“…The COVID-19 pandemic created a prolonged state of emergency that required fire service personnel to shift their normal operations without reprieve. Further, given the results mentioned from the quantitative assessments, 14 our current findings will help explain the variability found with the COVID-19 RAPID Mental Health Assessment sample.…”

“…The top five responses to how the pandemic was impacting first responders were: fear of spreading the virus to family/friends, change in eating patterns, change in sleeping patterns, quarantine requirements by the workplace, and lack of access to personal protective equipment (PPE). 14 Additionally, in the RAPID sample mandatory overtime was implemented in 33% of the participating departments and voluntary overtime was implemented in 40% of participating departments. This increased time on the job may have impacted these preliminary quantitative findings.…”

“…The data collected in this study are meant to support quantitative findings from Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on US Fire-Based EMS Responders: A Tale of Two Samples (The RAPID Study I). 14 Focus groups and interviews were utilized rather than survey data to better gauge reactions to job changes and the shared experience of fire service personnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the primary research questions of this study were:…”

“…Preliminary quantitative findings from the COVID-19 RAPID Mental Health Assessment (RAPID) conducted by The Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST) at Drexel University indicated increases in burnout, anxiety, depression, and intention to leave the profession among participants as well as decreases in job satisfaction, work engagement, and organizational support. The top five responses to how the pandemic was impacting first responders were: fear of spreading the virus to family/friends, change in eating patterns, change in sleeping patterns, quarantine requirements by the workplace, and lack of access to personal protective equipment (PPE) 14 . Additionally, in the RAPID sample mandatory overtime was implemented in 33% of the participating departments and voluntary overtime was implemented in 40% of participating departments.…”

“…Our primary research aim was to learn about fire department members’ experiences to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the psychological and physiological threats (eg, stress, anxiety, burnout, and infection) to their work environment during the pandemic and how organizations supported first responders during this time. The data collected in this study are meant to support quantitative findings from Assessing the Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on US Fire-Based EMS Responders: A Tale of Two Samples (The RAPID Study I) 14 . Focus groups and interviews were utilized rather than survey data to better gauge reactions to job changes and the shared experience of fire service personnel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.…”