First Responders: Mental Health Consequences of Natural and Human-Made Disasters for Public Health and Public Safety Workers

Abstract

First responders, including military health care workers, public health service workers, and state, local, and volunteer first responders serve an important role in protecting our nation's citizenry in the aftermath of disaster. Protecting our nation's health is a vital part of preserving national security and the continuity of critical national functions. However, public health and public safety workers experience a broad range of health and mental health consequences as a result of work-related exposures to natural or man-made disasters. This chapter reviews recent epidemiologic studies that broaden our understanding of the range of health and mental health consequences for first responders. Evidence-based psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions for posttraumatic distress reactions and psychiatric disorders are outlined. Finally, the application of public health intervention models for the assessment and management of distress responses and mental disorders in first-responder communities is discussed.

Burnout and Association with Psychosocial Work Environment among Swedish Firefighters

“…The association was also confirmed among men in the hierarchical multiple regression models with DP as the outcome and lack of good leadership as the exposure. Our findings are consistent to some degree with results from research stating that firefighters are exposed to high demands in their work, and thus they are considered to be a group at risk of burnout (Benedek et al, 2007). However, the reported low level of burnout is somewhat surprising because we know what firefighters are exposed to and we know how the level of burnout is related to similar exposures among other kinds of first responders (Backteman-Erlanson et al, 2013;Sterud et al, 2007).…”

“…Firefighters and other first responders are exposed to traumatic and stressful psychosocial and physical strain in their work, and thus they are considered to be a group at high risk of burnout (Benedek, Fullerton, & Ursano, 2007;Corneil, Beaton, Murphy, Johnson, & Pike, 1999). In similar occupations in the Netherlands, such as ambulance personnel, the prevalence of burnout in workers from 10 regions was reported to be 8.6% (Van Der Ploeg & Kleber, 2003), and a study from a Scottish regional ambulance service reported that 26% and 22% of the workers had high scores on the MBI subscales of emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP), respectively (Sterud, Hem, Ekeberg, & Lau, 2007).…”

Challenges of Nurses’ Deployment to Other New York City Hospitals in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

“…3 Research has shown that managing disasterrelated events poses a significant challenge for nursing staff and health care facilities. 4,5 Even when forewarned, the circumstances of most disasters are unpredictable, often limiting the utility of pre-disaster planning. Some health care providers have reported that strategies to accommodate abrupt changes in their work environment are even more essential to fulfilling their assigned disaster roles than specific skills acquisition.…”

An Academic-Government-Faith Partnership to Build Disaster Mental Health Preparedness and Community Resilience

“…6,7 • Public health system personnel are themselves at risk for all of the aforementioned reasons. [8][9][10] Critical among the capabilities needed to mitigate the impact of behavioral health surge are strategies to remedy (1) the shortage of disaster responders with mental health expertise to aid individual disaster survivors and (2) the dearth of communities with formal disaster preparedness plans (and planning activities) to safeguard residents before, during, and following disasters. Accordingly, we believe the public health significance of the approach to be described is that it incorporates validated and replicable interventions to address those challenges directly.…”