Evaluation of a trauma therapy programme within emergency service organizations.
Anxiety Disorders
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
/ methods
Depressive Disorder
Emergency Medical Services
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing
/ methods
Female
Firefighters
/ psychology
Humans
Male
Occupational Diseases
/ prevention & control
Occupational Health Services
Police
/ psychology
Rescue Work
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/ prevention & control
United Kingdom
Emergency services
trauma
trauma therapy
Journal
Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)
ISSN: 1471-8405
Titre abrégé: Occup Med (Lond)
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9205857
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
31 Dec 2019
31 Dec 2019
Historique:
pubmed:
4
8
2019
medline:
23
6
2020
entrez:
4
8
2019
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Occupational health practitioners working in emergency services, where employees are exposed to a higher level of physical or psychological trauma, need to be able to access trauma therapy programmes which are economically viable and effective in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder and associated symptoms of anxiety and depression. The aim of this review is to provide evidence on benefits of a short-term organizational programme of trauma therapy using NICE (2018) [1] recommended interventions. The review examined the pre- and post-therapy clinical scores from 429 emergency service professionals (ESPs) who were employed in five police forces, two fire and two ambulance services. The ESPs in higher risk roles were in a psychological surveillance programme, with those found to be experiencing clinically significant levels of trauma-related symptoms being referred to a psychologist for an assessment which identified the ESPs requiring trauma therapy. At the end of the therapy, the symptoms of the ESPs were re-assessed, and the scores before and after the therapy were compared. The results showed a significant improvement in the level of symptoms, with 81% of ESPs no longer exhibiting clinically significant trauma symptoms and 6% showing an increase in symptoms. In addition, the clinical results also showed improvements in ESPs' perceived work capacity and quality of social relationships. The findings indicate that there are clinical and personal benefits to using an organizationally based short-term model of trauma therapy in an emergency service setting.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Occupational health practitioners working in emergency services, where employees are exposed to a higher level of physical or psychological trauma, need to be able to access trauma therapy programmes which are economically viable and effective in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder and associated symptoms of anxiety and depression.
AIMS
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this review is to provide evidence on benefits of a short-term organizational programme of trauma therapy using NICE (2018) [1] recommended interventions.
METHODS
METHODS
The review examined the pre- and post-therapy clinical scores from 429 emergency service professionals (ESPs) who were employed in five police forces, two fire and two ambulance services. The ESPs in higher risk roles were in a psychological surveillance programme, with those found to be experiencing clinically significant levels of trauma-related symptoms being referred to a psychologist for an assessment which identified the ESPs requiring trauma therapy. At the end of the therapy, the symptoms of the ESPs were re-assessed, and the scores before and after the therapy were compared.
RESULTS
RESULTS
The results showed a significant improvement in the level of symptoms, with 81% of ESPs no longer exhibiting clinically significant trauma symptoms and 6% showing an increase in symptoms. In addition, the clinical results also showed improvements in ESPs' perceived work capacity and quality of social relationships.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that there are clinical and personal benefits to using an organizationally based short-term model of trauma therapy in an emergency service setting.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31375822
pii: 5543266
doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqz111
doi:
Types de publication
Evaluation Study
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
559-565Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.