The Resilient Minds Program in Fire Departments

Assessing the Impact of the Resilient Minds Program in Fire Departments

The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of a mental health training program in volunteer and career firefighters.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Trauma; Mental Illness; Critical Incident
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Resilient Minds

Detailed Description

THE PROBLEM: Firefighters are frequently exposed to distressing events, or critical incidents such as motor vehicle accidents, burnt bodies, failed rescue attempts, threats to one's own life, and completed suicides that can trigger posttraumatic stress reactions. Previous research show that first responders and other public safety personnel report frequent exposure to traumatic events and are at increased risk for mental health illnesses.

THE STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a mental health training program in volunteer and career firefighters.

THE STUDY SAMPLE: 600 firefighters: 300 Prince Edward Island volunteer or career firefighters, 300 Vancouver career firefighters

INTERVENTION: Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services and the Canadian Mental Health Association-Vancouver Fraser co-developed a new program called, "Resilient Minds-Building the Psychological Health of Fire Fighters." The Resilient Minds training will educate firefighters about the effects of trauma, how to recognize signs of mental health illness and how to access support after critical events. It also trains firefighters to recognize mental health and addictions in co-workers and how to facilitate their help-seeking.

OUTCOMES: The impact of the program will be assessed by pre- and post-program surveys, 3-month, 6-month, 12-month follow-up surveys.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 600
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • British Columbia
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
      • Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services
  • Prince Edward Island
    • Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
      • Charlottetown Fire Department
    • Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island, Canada
      • East River Fire Department
    • Stratford, Prince Edward Island, Canada
      • Crossroads Fire Department
    • Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada
      • Summerside Fire Department

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years and older
• can read, understand, speak English
• career or volunteer firefighters in PEI participating in Resilient Minds program

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: NA
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL: Resilient Minds; Four comprehensive, skill-building learning modules in the areas of psychological trauma, mental health problems, resiliency and workplace stress.

Behavioral: Resilient Minds; The program is designed: 1) to decrease the risk of developing a stress disorder or other mental illnesses due to workplace incidents and/or unhealthy stress; 2) to mitigate the negative impacts of mental illness and trauma through early recognition and early intervention; 3) to support the public while on the frontline; and 4) to improve the psychological health of fire staff while cultivating resilience and enhancing quality of life.; Other Names: Mental Resiliency

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mental Health Knowledge	Survey on mental health knowledge (unit of measure = 5-point Likert Scale, "Agree Strongly" to "Disagree Strongly")	0-12 months
Knowledge Retention	Survey on retention of program material (unit of measure = 5-point Likert scale, "Not much" to "A Lot")	0-12 months
Work Stress	Survey on factors that contribute to work stress (unit of measure = 5-point Likert scale, "Not at all" to "A Lot")	0-12 months
Impact on support levels	Survey on program's impacts on peer supports and organizational culture (unit of measure = 5-point Likert scale, "No, it seems less supportive" to "Yes, it seems quite a bit more supportive")	0-12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-perceived learning	Survey on self-perceived learning about psychological trauma and/or mental health challenges (unit of measure = 4-point Likert scale, "Very true" to "Not true")	0-12 months
Helpfulness of training	Survey of helpfulness of training (unit of measure = Yes or No response)	0-12 months
Utilization of training	Survey on intent and actual usage of information or skills learned from program (unit of measure = Yes or No response)	0-12 months
Critical incidents exposure and impact	Survey on exposures to difficult or stressful things (unit of measure = ratings of frequency and impact on life)	0 months
Resilience	Survey on mental resiliency (unit of measure = 5-point Likert scale, "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree")	0-12 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Traumatic Life Events Checklist	Survey on lifetime experience with "difficult or stressful things"	3 months
PTSD Checklst	Survey on PTSD symptoms over past month	0-12 months
Public Safety Officer Stress	Survey on stress from being first responder (past 6 months)	0-12 months
Suicidal Behavioural	Survey on suicidal behaviours	0-12 months
Anxiety	Survey on anxiety symptoms (past 2 weeks)	0-12 months
Depression	Survey on mood symptoms (past 2 weeks)	0-12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: McMaster University
• Collaborators: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); University of Western Ontario, Canada; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Canadian Mental Health Association, Prince Edward Island; Canadian Mental Health Association, British Columbia; Canadian Mental Health Association, Vancouver-Fraser; Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Amanda Brazil, MAEd, PhD, FIREWELL; Principal Investigator: Steve Fraser, Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services; Principal Investigator: Joy MacDermid, PhD, McMaster University & Western University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): January 25, 2018
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): June 30, 2021
• Study Completion (ANTICIPATED): December 31, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 20, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 16, 2018
• First Posted (ACTUAL): January 17, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): September 9, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 8, 2021
• Last Verified: September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: peer support; firefighters; mental resiliency
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2017-4390-GRA

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No