Grant: Catalyst Grant: PTSI among PSP workers

Public safety personnel (PSP) include police, firefighters, rescue workers, border services, operational analysts, Indigenous emergency manager's paramedics, and correctional officers. It is known that these groups have different needs and strengths in how they deal with their frequent experiences of traumatic stress such as violence, crime and disasters. However, most research has focused on the mental health difficulties or what is called post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) developed by a number of PSP and less on their coping strategies even though a large number of personnel do not develop PTSI. Another aspect that needs attention is to know how PSP prefer to access mental health information and services. This study will investigate these two unexplored areas, how PSP develop resilience, and how they prefer to use and access mental health resources. The study will focus on the police forces in Ontario due to recent reports of increased distress among these forces, which need urgent attention. To collect information, it will use an online survey, interviews, community forums and photo exhibits. Following a participatory approach the study will be led by an advisory committee of members of the police forces recruited among police branches in diverse cities in Ontario, such as Waterloo, Ottawa, Sudbury and Brantford. The aim of the research is to put the insights of members of police forces up front, serving not only as users of the knowledge resulting from the research, but also as producers of such knowledge. The resulting findings on how resilience building strategies and the effective and timely use of mental health services and information can prevent mental distress among police forces will be circulated among police branches in Canada, other PSP groups, mental health service providers, municipal, provincial and federal policy makers and the community at large.