Exposure to suicide and suicide bereavement among women firefighters: Associated suicidality and psychiatric symptoms

Hom, Melanie A.; Stanley, Ian H.; Spencer‐Thomas, Sally; Joiner, Thomas E.

doi:10.1002/jclp.22674

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Using a total cut-off score of 7.5 (sensitivity = 0.82; specificity = 0.80) to identify any alcohol use disorder and a cut-off score of 8.5 (sensitivity = 0.86; specificity = 0.86) to identify those with alcohol dependence, the Korean AUDIT-C appears to be a valid screening tool for PSP [70]. The AUDIT-C has also been used in numerous studies of PSP mental health, with internal consistency ranging from 0.67 to 0.81 when analyzed [71][72][73][74]. The AUDIT-C appears to be a psychometrically-sound screening questionnaire for alcohol abuse or dependence and heavy drinking [68].…”

Section: Single-disorder Symptom Questionnaires 321 Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-consumption (Audit-c)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief Mental Health Disorder Screening Questionnaires and Use with Public Safety Personnel: A Review

Shields

Korol

Carleton

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Brief mental health disorder screening questionnaires (SQs) are used by psychiatrists, physicians, researchers, psychologists, and other mental health professionals and may provide an efficient method to guide clinicians to query symptom areas requiring further assessment. For example, annual screening has been used to help identify military personnel who may need help. Nearly half (44.5%) of Canadian public safety personnel (PSP) screen positive for one or more mental health disorder(s); as such, regular mental health screenings for PSP may be a valuable way to support mental health. The following review was conducted to (1) identify existing brief mental health disorder SQs; (2) review empirical evidence of the validity of identified SQs; (3) identify SQs validated within PSP populations; and (4) recommend appropriately validated brief screening questionnaires for five common mental health disorders (i.e., generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive depression (MDD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorder). After reviewing the psychometric properties of the identified brief screening questionnaires, we recommend the following four brief screening tools for use with PSP: the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (screening for MDD and GAD), the Brief Panic Disorder Symptom Screen—Self-Report, the Short-Form Posttraumatic Checklist-5, and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption.

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Section: Single-disorder Symptom Questionnaires 321 Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-consumption (Audit-c)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief Mental Health Disorder Screening Questionnaires and Use with Public Safety Personnel: A Review

Shields

Korol

Carleton

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A total of 11 papers assessed suicide impacts among psychiatrists and psychologists only [4,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37], one assessed the suicide impact on nurses [38] and one assessed exposure to suicide reactions among counselors and social workers [39]. Only five papers addressed exposure to suicide among first responders (firefighters and police) [3,[40][41][42][43]. The findings of each paper are summarized on the Table 1.…”

Section: Literature Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sample size of the studies ranged from 61 to 1,027, and all used web-based surveys. The prevalence of exposure to suicide while on-duty (including suicidal behaviors) ranged from 34.8% to 92.4% [40][41][42]. Hom, Stanley [40] report the prevalence of exposure to suicide in the firefighters' personal life (74%), rather than their exposure while on duty.…”

Section: Firefightersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prevalence of exposure to suicide while on-duty (including suicidal behaviors) ranged from 34.8% to 92.4% [40][41][42]. Hom, Stanley [40] report the prevalence of exposure to suicide in the firefighters' personal life (74%), rather than their exposure while on duty. For those who knew someone who died by suicide, 54% reported the person who died was another firefighter (but not a close colleague) and 31.1% reported it was a fellow firefighter (a close professional colleague).…”

Section: Firefightersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational exposure to suicide: A review of research on the experiences of mental health professionals and first responders

et al. 2021

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Exposure to suicide is a major factor for suicidality. Mental health professionals and first responders are often exposed to suicide while on-duty. The objective of this scoping review is to describe the state of current research on exposure to suicide among mental health professionals and first responders, focusing on the prevalence and impact of exposure to suicide, and to identify current gaps in the literature. We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, PsychNET, and Web of Science and identified 25 eligible papers. Between 31.5–95.0% of professionals had been exposed to suicide. Exposure to suicide had impacts on personal life, professional life, and mental health; and caused emotional distress. There was little research investigating exposure to suicide among police officers, firefighters, and paramedics. More research existed on mental health professionals, but none assessed exposure to suicide as a risk for suicide amongst this group. The review concludes that exposure to suicide is distressing for mental health professionals, and likely to be for first responder however, more research on these groups, especially paramedics, is required.

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“…Furthermore, as the impact of suicide within HEIs is under-researched, specific postvention needs remain unknown. As other groups of workers experience diverse and impactful affects when their job-role brings them into contact with a death by suicide [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], it is pertinent to understand what kinds of impact, if any, are experienced by HEI staff members as a group. This would inform current models of postvention provision within HEIs by providing a context-specific evidence base.…”

Section: Postvention Support In Heismentioning

confidence: 99%

Bearing witness: A grounded theory of the experiences of staff at two United Kingdom Higher Education Institutions following a student death by suicide

et al. 2021

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Wider networks of people are affected by a suicide death than originally thought, including those whose job-role brings them into contact with a death by suicide of another person. The impact of student suicide within United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is unexplored and the experiences of staff members remain unknown. It is not known whether staff members have specific postvention needs following a student death by suicide. Any postvention support currently offered to staff members within UK HEIs lacks a context-specific evidence base. This study asked ‘How is a student suicide experienced by staff members within a UK HEI and what are the features of that experience?’ Staff members from diverse job-roles in two UK HEIs responded to a qualitative survey (n = 19) and participated in semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Data were transcribed and subjected to a constructivist grounded theory analysis. Participants’ experiences informed the development of a core category: ’Bearing witness’, which encompassed six further categories: ’Responding to a student suicide’; ’Experiencing a student suicide’; ’Needs and fears’; ’Experiences of support’; ’Human stories’; and ’Cultural stories’. The resulting grounded theory demonstrates how participants’ perceptions of impact are informed by their experiences of undertaking tasks following a student suicide within the community of their HEI. Processes of constructing perceptions of closeness to the student who died are evident amongst participants who did not know the student prior to their death. Tailored postvention support is required to respond to the range and complexity of HEI staff needs following a student death by suicide.

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Exposure to suicide and suicide bereavement among women firefighters: Associated suicidality and psychiatric symptoms

Cited by 12 publications

References 43 publications

Brief Mental Health Disorder Screening Questionnaires and Use with Public Safety Personnel: A Review

Brief Mental Health Disorder Screening Questionnaires and Use with Public Safety Personnel: A Review

Occupational exposure to suicide: A review of research on the experiences of mental health professionals and first responders

Bearing witness: A grounded theory of the experiences of staff at two United Kingdom Higher Education Institutions following a student death by suicide

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