Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.

Answering the Call, the Australian National Police and Emergency Services Mental Health and Wellbeing Study, surveyed 14,868 Australian ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency service employees. Emergency services personnel had lower rates of mental wellbeing and higher rates of psyc...

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Main Authors: Kyron, Michael J, Rikkers, Wavne, Bartlett, Jennifer, Renehan, Emma, Hafekost, Katherine, Baigent, Michael, Cunneen, Rebecca, Lawrence, David
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88176
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author Kyron, Michael J
Rikkers, Wavne
Bartlett, Jennifer
Renehan, Emma
Hafekost, Katherine
Baigent, Michael
Cunneen, Rebecca
Lawrence, David
author_facet Kyron, Michael J
Rikkers, Wavne
Bartlett, Jennifer
Renehan, Emma
Hafekost, Katherine
Baigent, Michael
Cunneen, Rebecca
Lawrence, David
author_sort Kyron, Michael J
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Answering the Call, the Australian National Police and Emergency Services Mental Health and Wellbeing Study, surveyed 14,868 Australian ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency service employees. Emergency services personnel had lower rates of mental wellbeing and higher rates of psychological distress and probable PTSD than the general adult population. Overall 30% had low wellbeing, 21% had high and 9% had very high psychological distress, and 10% had probable PTSD. An estimated 5% had suicidal ideation and 2% had a suicide plan in the past 12 months, while 16% binge drink at least weekly. Only one in five of those with very high psychological distress or probable PTSD felt they received adequate support for their condition. These findings highlight the risk of mental health conditions associated with work in the emergency services sector.
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publishDate 2021
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-881762022-05-05T06:40:55Z Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees. Kyron, Michael J Rikkers, Wavne Bartlett, Jennifer Renehan, Emma Hafekost, Katherine Baigent, Michael Cunneen, Rebecca Lawrence, David Ambulance common mental disorders firefighters mental health post-traumatic stress disorder psychological distress service users stigma and discrimination Answering the Call, the Australian National Police and Emergency Services Mental Health and Wellbeing Study, surveyed 14,868 Australian ambulance, fire and rescue, police, and state emergency service employees. Emergency services personnel had lower rates of mental wellbeing and higher rates of psychological distress and probable PTSD than the general adult population. Overall 30% had low wellbeing, 21% had high and 9% had very high psychological distress, and 10% had probable PTSD. An estimated 5% had suicidal ideation and 2% had a suicide plan in the past 12 months, while 16% binge drink at least weekly. Only one in five of those with very high psychological distress or probable PTSD felt they received adequate support for their condition. These findings highlight the risk of mental health conditions associated with work in the emergency services sector. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88176 10.1080/19338244.2021.1893631 eng fulltext
spellingShingle Ambulance
common mental disorders
firefighters
mental health
post-traumatic stress disorder
psychological distress
service users
stigma and discrimination
Kyron, Michael J
Rikkers, Wavne
Bartlett, Jennifer
Renehan, Emma
Hafekost, Katherine
Baigent, Michael
Cunneen, Rebecca
Lawrence, David
Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.
title Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.
title_full Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.
title_fullStr Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.
title_full_unstemmed Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.
title_short Mental health and wellbeing of Australian police and emergency services employees.
title_sort mental health and wellbeing of australian police and emergency services employees.
topic Ambulance
common mental disorders
firefighters
mental health
post-traumatic stress disorder
psychological distress
service users
stigma and discrimination
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88176