Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Rescuers at Risk

PTSD Clinical Trial

Official title:

Rescuers at Risk: Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Differ Among Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Ambulance Personnel, and Emergency and Psychiatric Nurses

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03842553
• Other study ID #: PTSD2014
• Status: Completed
• Start date: June 2014
• Est. completion date: May 2015

Study information

• Verified date: March 2019
• Source: University of Bern
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

This cross-sectional, anonymous online survey aims to examine how salient variables influence PTSS, well-being, and suicidal ideation across the following professions of rescue workers: firefighters, ambulance personnel, police officers, and emergency and psychiatric nurses. PTSS, coping strategies, well-being, suicidal ideation, previously experienced and work-related trauma, and self-efficacy were measured and analyzed using multiple regression and structural equation modeling.

Description:

Employees of rescue and emergency services are at a risk of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) due to exposure to trauma and work-related stressors. Salient predictors for the development of PTSS among rescue workers have been identified; however, little is known about how predictors (e.g. coping strategies) differ among professions requiring repeated engagement in emergencies. The present survey examines how these variables influence PTSS, well-being, and suicidal ideation across different professions of rescue Workers using multiple regression and structural equation modeling.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 1001
• Est. completion date: May 2015
• Est. primary completion date: May 2015
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

Employee at the rescue or emergency services. The participation in the anonymous online study is voluntary and promoted by the department heads at the places of work corresponding to the studied professions. No ethical approval is needed as the survey was voluntary and anonymous and participants gave consent to use the data with their participation.

Exclusion Criteria:

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Coping Skills
• PTSD
• Self Efficacy
• Suicidal Ideation
• Trauma

Intervention

Other:
• No Intervention: anonymous online survey

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Switzerland	University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern	Bern

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Bern

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Switzerland, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Self-efficacy	Self-efficacy was measured using the General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale, a 10-item self-report instrument for personality diagnostics based on Banduras's concept of perceived self-efficacy that measures the general optimistic competence expectation	at baseline
Other	Coping Strategies	5-point Likert scale, ranging from a score of 1, indicating "not helpful"; to 5, "very helpful." According to the operationalization of Coolidge, coping strategies were divided into three main subscales: I) problem-focused coping strategies, which was comprised of the subscales of "instrumental support" (getting help and advice from psychologic professionals) and "active job coping" (debriefing with operation team, supervisor, and work colleagues); II) dysfunctional coping strategies, which included "substance use" (alcohol or medication), "avoidance" (avoidance of situations and emotions associated with the stressful/traumatic situation), and "self-distraction" (turning to work or other activities to take the mind off the stressful situation); III) emotion-focused coping strategy (humor, getting emotional support from close friends, thinking about the positive aspects of the job).	at baseline
Other	The burden of stressful job-related circumstances	The burden of stressful job-related circumstances, such as dealing with situations including people (aggressive and violent people, dealing with deaths or suicide, threats, dealing with relatives, involvement of children) and job-related conditions (incorrect or wrong information about the emergency situation, shift work, time pressure). Participants stated if they had ever experienced a presented situation, and if so, whether the situation caused a light or heavy stress burden.	at baseline
Other	work-unrelated trauma	Number of previous experienced work-unrelated trauma	at baseline
Other	work-related trauma	Number of experienced trauma at work	at baseline
Primary	PTSS-10	Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms assessed with the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale, a self-rating scale used in screening and follow-up studies on catastrophe that measures the most common posttraumatic symptoms (sleep disorders, nightmares, fear of reminders, etc.)	at baseline
Secondary	Well-being	Mental well-being assessed with the German version of the shortest General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12). Psychological distress and psychiatric disorders were assessed with the German Version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI).	at baseline
Secondary	Suicidal Ideation	Participants were asked if they had suicidal ideation in the 12 months prior to the questionnaire	within the last 12 months before the survey
Secondary	Psychological distress and psychiatric disorders	German Version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The 53-item self-report questionnaire measures symptoms of general psychopathology.	at baseline