Browsing by Author "Di Nota, Paula"

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    Mental disorders, suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among Canadian police
    (Oxford University Press, 2020-03-10) Di Nota, Paula; Anderson, Gregory S.; Ricciardelli, Rosemary; Carleton, R. Nicholas; Groll, Dianne
    Recent investigations have demonstrated a significant prevalence of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among Canadian public safety personnel, including police officers. What remains unknown is the relationship between mental disorders and suicide among sworn police officers, and the prevalence of both among civilian police workers.
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    Mental Health Risk Factors Related to COVID-19 among Canadian Public Safety Professionals
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2022-12-26) Wagner, Shannon; Di Nota, Paula; Groll, Dianne; Lentz, Liana; Shields, Robyn, E.; Carleton, R. Nicholas; Cramm, Heidi; Wei Lin, Becky; Anderson, Gregory S.
    Public safety personnel (PSP) are known to experience difficult and demanding occupational environments, an environment that has been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Firefighters, paramedics, and public safety communicators were among the front-line workers that continued to serve the public throughout the course of the pandemic. The present study considered the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-reported symptoms of mental health challenges in Canadian firefighters, paramedics, and public safety communicators. Participants were firefighters (n = 123), paramedics (n = 246), and public safety communicators (n = 48), who completed an online survey, including demographics, questions related to COVID-19 exposure and worry, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Social Interaction Phobia Scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5. Results revealed that risk factors for increased mental health symptom reporting were paramedic occupation, self-identified female, younger in age, COVID-19 personal contact, requirement to self-isolate, and self-perception of COVID-19 contraction (without confirmation through testing). The COVID-19 pandemic should be considered a risk factor for increased mental health symptom reporting in PSP.
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    Peer support and crisis-focused psychological interventions designed to mitigate post-traumatic stress injuries among public safety and frontline healthcare personnel: a systematic review
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020-10-20) Anderson, Gregory S.; Di Nota, Paula; Groll, Dianne; Carleton, R. Nicholas
    Public safety personnel (PSP) and frontline healthcare professionals (FHP) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs), and report increased rates of post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSIs). Despite widespread implementation and repeated calls for research, effectiveness evidence for organizational post-exposure PTSI mitigation services remains lacking. The current systematic review synthesized and appraised recent (2008–December 2019) empirical research from 22 electronic databases following a population–intervention–comparison–outcome framework. Eligible studies investigated the effectiveness of organizational peer support and crisis-focused psychological interventions designed to mitigate PTSIs among PSP, FHP, and other PPTE-exposed workers. The review included 14 eligible studies (n = 18,849 participants) that were synthesized with qualitative narrative analyses. The absence of pre–post-evaluations and the use of inconsistent outcome measures precluded quantitative meta-analysis. Thematic services included diverse programming for critical incident stress debriefing, critical incident stress management, peer support, psychological first aid, and trauma risk management. Designs included randomized control trials, retrospective cohort studies, and cross-sectional studies. Outcome measures included PPTE impacts, absenteeism, substance use, suicide rates, psychiatric symptoms, risk assessments, stigma, and global assessments of functioning. Quality assessment indicated limited strength of evidence and failures to control for pre-existing PTSIs, which would significantly bias program effectiveness evaluations for reducing PTSIs post-PPTE.
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    Proactive psychological programs designed to mitigate posttraumatic stress injuries among at-risk workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
    (BioMed Central (BMC), 2021-04-28) Di Nota, Paula; Bahji, Anees; Groll, Dianne; Carleton, R. Nicholas; Anderson, Gregory S.
    Public safety personnel and frontline healthcare professionals are at increased risk of exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE) and developing posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI, e.g., depression, anxiety) by the nature of their work. PTSI are also linked to increased absenteeism, suicidality, and performance decrements, which compromise occupational and public health and safety in trauma-exposed workers. Evidence is lacking regarding the effectiveness of “prevention” programs designed to mitigate PTSI proactively. The purpose of this review is to measure the effectiveness of proactive PTSI mitigation programs among occupational groups exposed to PPTE on measures of PTSI symptoms, absenteeism, and psychological wellness.