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Emergency communication operators (ECOs) are routinely exposed to duty-related trauma and tasked with obtaining pertinent information to identify the nature of the emergency, allocate necessary resources and provide critical details to those responding to the crisis. Stress associated with responding to a difficult call places ECOs at an increased risk for mental health problems. This paper presents results of the National Wellness Survey for Public Safety Personnel, concerning the impact of occupational stressors ECOs experience. Findings indicate high prevalence rates of occupational and personal stressors, as well as diagnostic impressions of ECOs. The findings revealed that more than one-third of ECOs are experiencing clinically significant levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Consistent with research, ECOs endorsed being negatively affected by their job, yet were reluctant to seek help. Implications of the findings for assisting ECOs in alleviating stress are considered. Suggestions for future directions in this area are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between alexithymia, two types of ruminations (intrusive and deliberate) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms for two groups of emergency workers working in Poland: paramedics and emergency call centre operators. Material and methods: The research project was conducted the Wielkopolskie voivodship in Poland. The participants were paramedics (n = 72; 54 men, 18 women) and dispatchers (n = 66; 35 men, 31 women). The following Polish versions of standardized tools were used: the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), and the Event Related Rumination Inventory (ERRI). Results: Analysis of the correlation with Spearman's test demonstrated a statistically significant relationship in both groups between the symptoms of PTSD and ruminations and alexithymia and intrusive ruminations. The correlation between intrusive ruminations and PTSD was stronger for the paramedic group. Also, in the paramedic group, ruminations acted as a mediator for the relation of alexithymia and the intensity of post-traumatic stress. Conclusions: The results of the study provide some evidence that paramedics present more PTSD symptoms than emergency call centre operators. The important individual features which increase PTSD are emotional-cognitive aspects of mental processing: ruminations and alexithymia. The paramedics' direct participation in traumatic events is more overloading for them than the indirect participation in traumatic events for dispatchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although they are technically the first responders on most critical incidents, emergency dispatchers have received a modicum of attention from researchers and clinicians. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate job-related stress, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress resiliency, and posttraumatic growth in this high-risk group. These areas were evaluated via an assessment battery administered to 90 emergency dispatchers working in a law enforcement agency. Results showed that dispatchers experienced an average amount of occupational stress, with 24% of the current sample reporting significant job stress. Between 13.34 and 15.56% reported symptoms consistent with a PTSD diagnosis, and 16.67% indicated sub-threshold PTSD symptomatology. The findings revealed that, overall, dispatchers experience occupational stress, psychological distress, and sub-threshold PTSD at similar or higher rates compared to police officers. Further, dispatchers reported posttraumatic growth at an average rate, also similar to that reported by police officers. Clinical implications of the results are discussed. Suggestions for directions that future research might take are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency telecommunications personnel (ETCP) form the hub of police agencies and persistently deal with distressing situations on a daily basis, making them highly susceptible to psychological and physiological ailments. To date, few studies have examined the necessity or feasibility of implementing a resilience training intervention for ETCP. In this study, the authors assessed baseline psychological data from the ETCP of a large police department to determine the differences in baseline measures for ETCP and police officers. Participants included ETCP ages 29 to 64 years (n = 19). Results showed that ETCP self-reported greater levels of psychological stress compared with police officers (p < .05) for the majority of measures; ETCP experience excessive levels of stress and greater prevalence of chronic disease. Consideration should be given to piloting resilience interventions within this group to manage stress; improve health, performance, and decision making; and decrease the prevalence of chronic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Our aim was to assess psychomental stress and strain among dispatchers in fire departments, particularly during emergency instructions by phone and to evaluate their work ability. Methods 27 dispatchers and 20 controls were examined. In a protocol, participants recorded 1. phone instructions causing mental stress (event) 2.working time without phone instructions (non-event) 3. breaks. Continuous heart rate (variability), urine catecholamine, salivary cortisol and lymphocytes were measured. To assess the job-related burden, the Work Ability Index (WAI) was applied. Results Dispatchers demonstrated significantly higher heart rates and reduced standard deviation of all NN (heartbeat-to-heartbeat) intervals (SDNN) than the controls in all phases.WAI of dispatchers was significantly lower than that of the controls. Within the dispatchers, there was a significantly higher rate of inability to work during the past year. Conclusions The increased heart rate and reduced SDNN of examined dispatchers indicate chronic stress effects as a possible preliminary stage of a health disorder. In respect of the reduced work ability among dispatchers preventive measures are required to reduce the stress situation during their job-performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work environment characteristics, tasks, job stressors that generate psychological strain and coping stress strategies are described for 138 load dispatchers of public and private companies in Venezuela. A self-report questionnaire that measures frequency and intensity of job stressors and non-structured interviews were used. Load dispatchers are frequently exposed to a variety of job stressors. Phone and radio calls during the morning shift, with heavy workload and raining conditions, are the combination of events that may occur simultaneously and produce maximum stress. Working for the public sector increases the intensity of perceived stress. Behavioral Contingency Analysis suggests that the work of a dispatcher in front of a console is equivalent to a concurrent avoidance program of reinforcement. Actions for improving the work environment and coping stress strategies are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]