Assessing the mental health and wellbeing of the Emergency Responder community in the UK

Abstract

Those working in emergency responder (ER) roles may be at an
\nincreased risk of adverse mental health and wellbeing outcomes.
\nThe ER group, sometimes referred to as ‘First Responders’, is a
\nbroad category that includes those in the traditional ‘blue light’
\nemergency services and in volunteer organisations, such as Search
\nand Rescue and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI).
\nRegardless of the role type, the increased risk to mental health
\nand wellbeing may be due to the nature of their work, which
\ninvolves frequent exposure to potentially distressing situations,
\naccident scenes, and threats to safety for themselves and others.
\nThese high stress activities may be compounded by intense
\nworkplace stressors, such as excessive workloads, staffing cuts,
\nunpredictable work, inadequate support and increasing social
\naccountability.
\n
\nInitial scoping work by Mind looked at wellbeing across ERs
\nand reported a potential elevated risk of psychological issues
\ncompared to the general population, alongside a reluctance to
\nseek support for their symptoms. However, there is a general
\ndearth of research in this area. There is a lack of collated data
\nconcerning ERs mental health and wellbeing, and little is known
\nabout the nature and effectiveness of mental health and wellbeing
\nsupport that is available to ERs and their families.
\n
\nThis project addresses these concerns by identifying mental
\nhealth and wellbeing research (completed and ongoing) across the
\nemergency services, volunteer roles and their families, through
\na systematic review of UK, international and grey literature. In
\ntandem, a comprehensive landscape review was conducted to
\nassess the current mental health and wellbeing-related service
\nprovision and practice across the UK through stakeholder
\ninterviews and desktop-based research which investigated
\ninformation available on the internet.