A cross-sectional evaluation of city firefighters' exposure to potentially traumatic events during opioid overdose responses and mental health.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Broadwater K ; Chiu SK ; Li JF ; Wiegand, Douglas M.
• Description:
  Firefighters often serve as emergency medical services providers and face repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) while participating in opioid overdose responses (OORs), which may impact their mental health. A survey of 173 firefighters who had participated in an OOR in the previous 6 months was used to assess exposure to PTEs during such events, job stress, mental health symptoms, and resources used to address mental health symptoms. Most firefighters (97%) reported experiencing one or more PTEs while responding to an opioid overdose in the past 6 months. Associations between PTEs and mental health are reported. For example, there was a higher prevalence of high job stress (22.7% vs. 5.3%, p = 0.014) and meeting the screening definition of PTSD (15.4% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.047), depression (33.1% vs. 6.1%, p = 0.022), and anxiety (33.1% vs. 6.1%, p = 0.022) among those who experienced a needlestick injury during an OOR than those who did not experience a needlestick injury during an OOR. Seeking social support is recommended following PTEs; mental health care should be sought when symptoms interfere with personal, social, or occupational functioning. This survey identified important firefighter mental health characteristics which will assist fire departments in determining the appropriate mental health training, support, and services. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Mental Health Needlestick Injuries Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Opioid; Overdose; Firefighter; Trauma; Mental Health; Job Stress; Needlestick Fire Fighters; Emergency Medical Services Workers; EMS; Traumatic Incident Stress; Opioids; Mental Health; Job Stress; Needlestick Injuries; Drug Overdose;
• ISSN:
  1555-5240
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070052
• Citation:
  J Workplace Behav Health 2024 Aug; :[Epub ahead of print]
• Contact Point Address:
  Douglas M. Wiegand, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH
• Email:
  hzo7@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248312/cdc_248312_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]