REACT: A paraprofessional training program for first responders—A pilot study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a newly designed peer support training program for first responders titled Recognize, Evaluate, Advocate, Coordinate, and Track (REACT). REACT was developed in partnership with public safety agencies to address the need for promoting psychological health. This resulted in the development of a program that uses train-the-trainer methodology to address primary prevention of stress injuries. REACT was an all-day training that consisted of four modules, each featuring instruction and practice. Six public safety agencies totaling 30 individuals (76.9% from four fire departments, 23.1% from two emergency communication centers) participated in REACT. The primary outcomes were knowledge and training-related self-efficacy; secondary outcomes included general self-efficacy, resilience, and improved attitudes and expectations. A peer-support model, using a train-the-trainer methodology, is a promising approach for addressing the promotion of psychological health.

Associations between Trauma Exposure and Physical Conditions among Public Safety Personnel: Associations entre l’exposition à un traumatisme et les problèmes physiques chez le personnel de la santé publique

“…These results may suggest that PSP are able to cope with work-related trauma more effectively than trauma experienced in other contexts and subsequently are less likely to experience adverse physical health correlates related to occupational trauma. The current results may provide preliminary support for the positive impact of stress inoculation and resiliency training programs for PSP (e.g., mental health first aid, critical incident stress management, the Road to Mental Readiness, mindfulness-based resilience training), [48][49][50][51][52][53][54] which are designed to mitigate negative impacts of repeated work-related trauma exposure; however, additional investigation is warranted to explore this hypothesis further. Relatedly, PSP resilience toward workrelated trauma may stem from reduced uncertainty promoted by job-specific training and expectations formed about deployment experiences.…”

Social support as a mediator of occupational stressors and mental health outcomes in first responders

“…A report by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (2018) similarly provides several general strategies for building social support among first Our results also support the value of programs that that aim to facilitate enriched social support systems within first responders' work environments. One promising intervention geared towards first responders is, recognize, advocate, coordinate, and track, a peer support training program designed to promote first responders' mental health (Marks et al, 2017). A pilot study of this intervention found that the program led to improvement in first responders' knowledge and self-efficacy regarding their abilities to identify stress injuries, initiate and maintain conversations with peers suffering from such injuries, motivate teammates to follow through with help-seeking, and provide acute stress management-gains that were generally sustained at a 3-month follow-up assessment (Marks et al, 2017).…”

“…One promising intervention geared towards first responders is, recognize, advocate, coordinate, and track, a peer support training program designed to promote first responders' mental health (Marks et al, 2017). A pilot study of this intervention found that the program led to improvement in first responders' knowledge and self-efficacy regarding their abilities to identify stress injuries, initiate and maintain conversations with peers suffering from such injuries, motivate teammates to follow through with help-seeking, and provide acute stress management-gains that were generally sustained at a 3-month follow-up assessment (Marks et al, 2017). Although not a focus of the pilot study, it is possible that this intervention could also foster greater support and improved mental health among first responder teams.…”

Mental health and well-being of police in a health pandemic: Critical issues for police leaders in a post-COVID-19 environment

“…For many years, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) or psychological debriefing was used, until it was established that evidence to support its use was lacking (Bastos, Furuta, Small, McKenzie-McHarg, & Bick, 2015;Roberts, Kitchiner, Kenardy, Lewis, & Bisson, 2019;Rose, Bisson, Churchill, & Wessely, 2002). Other approaches included Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training (Intveld, 2016) and psychological first aid programs, such as Recognize, Evaluate, Advocate, Coordinate, and Track (REACT) (Marks et al, 2017). Castellano and Plionis (2006) compared three models of intervention: psychological first aid, CISM, and the FEMA/ SAMSHA Crisis Counseling Program (CCP).…”