Understanding mental health needs and gathering feedback on transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation as a potential PTSD treatment among 9/11 responders living with PTSD symptoms 20 years later: a qualitative approach.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Debnath S ; McCann-Pineo M ; Ryniker L ; Schwartz RM ; Shaam P ; Williams MS ; Zanos TP
• Description:
  Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains one of the most prevalent diagnoses of World Trade Center (WTC) 9/11 responders. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a potential treatment for PTSD, as it can downregulate activity in the brain, which is known to be related to stress responses and hyperarousal. To understand barriers and facilitators to engagement in mental health care and the feasibility and acceptability of using the taVNS device as a treatment for PTSD symptoms, a focus group was conducted among patients from the Queens WTC Health Program who had elevated symptoms of PTSD. The focus group discussion was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Three themes and subthemes emerged: (1) the continued prevalence of mental health difficulties and systematic challenges to accessing care; (2) positive reception toward the taVNS device as a potential treatment option, including a discussion of how to increase usability; and (3) feedback on increasing the feasibility and acceptance of the research methodology associated with testing the device in a pilot clinical trial. The findings highlight the need for additional treatment options to reduce PTSD symptoms in this population and provide key formative phase input for the pilot clinical trial of taVNS. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; PTSD; Vagus Nerve Stimulation; TaVNS; Focus Group; World Trade Center; 9/11; Focus Group; First Responders Mental Health; PTSD; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; WTC; World Trade Center; First Responders; Emergency Responders; Stress; Health Care; Nerves; Nerve Function;
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065066
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Apr; 19(8):4847
• Contact Point Address:
  Pooja Shaam, Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention, Northwell Health, 175 Community Drive, Great Neck, NY 11021, USA
• Email:
  pshaam@northwell.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20230630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac01f0a015cd45d4abf4526f5d5f86a99f455ae6ac910969d0995c3b7a9e97567256d858392c335adf47d2343ed5c17c4974ba8554e0ff82899391c4af070365
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248699/cdc_248699_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 637.98 KB ]