The usefulness of pre-employment and pre-deployment psychological screening for disaster relief workers: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: Individuals who conduct disaster relief work overseas are exposed to a variety of traumatic events that can cause distress and trigger psychological illnesses. Identification of which disaster relief workers may be at risk of experiencing psychological distress or mental health disorders is frequently carried out through preemployment or pre-deployment psychological screening. The primary objective of our review was to assess the evidence for pre-employment and pre-deployment psychological screening of relief workers who work in disaster situations. We aimed to identify specific pre-employment and pre-deployment characteristics that predict impaired wellbeing of an individual following engaging in disaster-related work. Methods: A combined list of search terms was composed relating to disaster-related occupations, screening methods, psychological disorders, and study design. The databases used were PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and GlobalHealth. We included studies that used cross-sectional or longitudinal study designs; were published in the English language in peer-reviewed academic journals; reported on the association between pre-employment and pre-deployment features and post-deployment psychological disorders or distress; considered any occupational groups responding to a specified, discrete crisis; and used at least one validated measure of distress or disorder. We extracted data on the author; year of publication; disaster description; country of study; study design; population sample; disorder(s) outcome and the measures used; and results. Results: Sixty-two, high-quality studies were included in the review. Forty-one potential predictors were identified. Of these, only volunteer status and previous history of mental illness and life stressors emerged as reliable predictors of distress or disorder. Conclusion: The results suggest that whilst it is attractive to screen for pre-employment and pre-deployment indicators of resilience, the evidence base for doing so is weak. At best, this sort of screening can only weakly suggest vulnerability and at worst may result in discrimination. Until better evidence about its usefulness becomes available, employers should exercise caution over its use.

Psychosocial model of burnout among humanitarian aid workers in Bangladesh: role of workplace stressors and emotion coping

“…Contrary to qualitative findings from other studies that highlighted the greater risk of exposure to workplace stressors and adversities among field workers, national, and female staff [ 3 , 16 ], these sociodemographic variables were not statistically significant predictors of exposure to stressors or psychological outcomes in this study. These findings together is consistent with results from a recent systematic review that history of mental disorder is one of the few reliable predictors of psychological distress and disorder in this occupation group [ 37 ]. While unique stressors faced by different demographic groups should be paid attention to, these convergent statistical results may also reflect a generally high level of resilience among these groups.…”

Psychosocial Model of Burnout among Humanitarian Aid Workers in Bangladesh: Role of Workplace Stressors and Emotion Coping

“…Contrary to qualitative ndings from other studies that highlighted the greater risk of exposure to workplace stressors and adversities among eld workers, national, and female staff (3,16), these sociodemographic variables were not statistically signi cant predictors of exposure to stressors or psychological outcomes in this study. These ndings together is consistent with results from a recent systematic review that history of mental disorder is one of the few reliable predictors of psychological distress and disorder in this occupation group (37). While unique stressors faced by different demographic groups should be paid attention to, these convergent statistical results may also re ect a generally high level of resilience among these groups.…”

Correctional officer turnover intentions and mental illness symptom: Testing the potential confounding effects of resilience.

“…If we are to accept our finding that resilience confounds the effects of mental illness symptoms on turnover intentions, then one final policy recommendation that should be taken under consideration by hiring managers within corrections would involve the pre-employment screening of applicants to determine their levels of resilience prior to starting the job. Opie et al (2020) found that when employers used pre-employment screening, sometimes consisting of a battery of questions on resilience to determine whether applicants could successfully confront the dangers of a job, their retention rates drastically increased. Therefore, managerial personnel within corrections may find value in screening applicants at the hiring stage to determine if they have the required levels of resilience to overcome the mental hardships of this line of employment.…”