Assessing the impact of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) protocol and Emotional Resilience Skills Training (ERST) among diverse public safety personnel

R. Nicholas Carleton, Michelle McCarron, Gregory P. Krätzig, Shannon Sauer-Zavala, J. Patrick Neary, Lisa M. Lix, Amber J. Fletcher, Ronald D. Camp, Robyn E. Shields, Laleh Jamshidi, Jolan Nisbet, Kirby Q. Maguire, Renée S. MacPhee, Tracie O. Afifi, Nicholas A. Jones, Ronald R. Martin, Jitender Sareen, Alain Brunet, Shadi Beshai, Gregory S. AndersonHeidi Cramm, Joy C. MacDermid, Rosemary Ricciardelli, Rasheda Rabbani, Taylor A. Teckchandani, Gordon J.G. Asmundson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., border services personnel, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events. Such events contribute to substantial and growing challenges from posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs), including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder. Methods: The current protocol paper describes the PSP PTSI Study (i.e., design, measures, materials, hypotheses, planned analyses, expected implications, and limitations), which was originally designed to evaluate an evidence-informed, proactive system of mental health assessment and training among Royal Canadian Mounted Police for delivery among diverse PSP (i.e., firefighters, municipal police, paramedics, public safety communicators). Specifically, the PSP PTSI Study will: (1) adapt, implement, and assess the impact of a system for ongoing (i.e., annual, monthly, daily) evidence-based assessments; (2) evaluate associations between demographic variables and PTSI; (3) longitudinally assess individual differences associated with PTSI; and, (4) assess the impact of providing diverse PSP with a tailored version of the Emotional Resilience Skills Training originally developed for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in mitigating PTSIs based on the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Participants are assessed pre- and post-training, and then at a follow-up 1-year after training. The assessments include clinical interviews, self-report surveys including brief daily and monthly assessments, and daily biometric data. The current protocol paper also describes participant recruitment and developments to date. Discussion: The PSP PTSI Study is an opportunity to implement, test, and improve a set of evidence-based tools and training as part of an evidence-informed solution to protect PSP mental health. The current protocol paper provides details to inform and support translation of the PSP PTSI Study results as well as informing and supporting replication efforts by other researchers. Trial registration: Hypotheses Registration: aspredicted.org, #90136. Registered 7 March 2022—Prospectively registered. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05530642. Registered 1 September 2022—Retrospectively registered. The subsequent PSP PTSI Study results are expected to benefit the mental health of all participants and, ultimately, all PSP.

Original languageEnglish
Article number295
JournalBMC psychology
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Funding

PSP Agencies (Alphabetically): Association of Public Safety Communication Officials, Frontenac Paramedic Services, Ottawa Paramedic Service, Paramedic Services Chiefs of Saskatchewan, Peterborough County-City Paramedics, Regina Fire and Protective Services, Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers, Saskatchewan Health Authority. PSP Knowledge Users (Alphabetically): Digney, K., Luciak, K., Milo, D., Perchie, G., Pritchard, M., Pittman, M., Rae, D., Robertson, L., Sundeen, N., Ward, C. PSP Trainers (Alphabetically): Brandauer, C., Earl, J., Frei, T., Gabriel, A., Gifford, K., Hedlin J., Hemsworth, A., Kolybaba L., Marshall, L., Onyskevitch, B., Wolbaum, C. Supporting Team Members (Alphabetically): Abrams, K.J., Bassi, S., Beckett, C., Burry, J., Forbes, K., Hansen, L., Huang, X., Kamil, M., King, D., Landry, C., MacNeil, J., Maredia, A., McCall, H., Milani, M., Moradizadeh, S., Onuegbu, O., Shchukin, M., Sharma, S., Sutherland, S., Tran, V., Tyagi, P., Variya, K. Correspondence regarding the described study should be addressed to [email protected]. Additional information is available in English and French at www.rcmpstudy.ca. The current study was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR FRN: 171645) and Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) consortium Team Grant for Mental Wellness in Public Safety, with additional financial support from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General. The Study Protocol has undergone full external peer review by CIHR as part of the peer review process. L. M. Lix is supported by a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality. T. O. Afifi is supported by a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience. The funding bodies have had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the current manuscript.

FundersFunder number
Association of Public Safety Communication Officials
Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment
Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police
Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers
Saskatchewan Health Authority
Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General
Canadian Institutes of Health Research171645
Canadian Institutes of Health Research

    Keywords

    • Emotional Resilience Skills Training
    • Longitudinal
    • PTSD
    • Posttraumatic stress injuries
    • Potentially psychologically traumatic events
    • Resiliency
    • Risk
    • Transdiagnostic
    • Unified protocol

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Psychology

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