Perspectives and Experiences of Public Safety Personnel Engaged in a Peer-Led Workplace Reintegration Program Post Critical Incident or Operational Stress Injury: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Public safety personnel (PSP) experience operational stress injuries (OSIs), which can put them at increased risk of experiencing mental health and functional challenges. Such challenges can result in PSP needing to take time away from the workplace. An unsuccessful workplace reintegration process may contribute to further personal challenges for PSP and their families as well as staffing shortages that adversely affect PSP organizations. The Canadian Workplace Reintegration Program (RP) has seen a global scale and spread in recent years. However, there remains a lack of evidence-based literature on this topic and the RP specifically. The current qualitative study was designed to explore the perspectives of PSP who had engaged in a Workplace RP due to experiencing a potentially psychologically injurious event or OSI. Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis analyzed interview data from 26 PSP who completed the RP. The researchers identified five themes: (1) the impact of stigma on service engagement; (2) the importance of short-term critical incident (STCI) program; (3) strengths of RP; (4) barriers and areas of improvement for the RP; and (5) support outside the RP. Discussion: Preliminary results were favorable, but further research is needed to address the effectiveness, efficacy, and utility of the RP. Conclusion: By addressing workplace reintegration through innovation and research, future initiatives and RP iterations can provide the best possible service and support to PSP and their communities.

Description
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Citation
Jones, Chelsea, Shaylee Spencer, Elly O’Greysik, Lorraine Smith-MacDonald, Katherine S. Bright, Amy J. Beck, R. Nicholas Carleton, Lisa Burback, Andrew Greenshaw, Yanbo Zhang, and et al. 2024. "Perspectives and Experiences of Public Safety Personnel Engaged in a Peer-Led Workplace Reintegration Program Post Critical Incident or Operational Stress Injury: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 21, no. 7: 949. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21070949