Grant: Team Grant: Mental Wellness in Public Safety Team Grants - LOI

Firefighters exposed to potentially traumatic events have a high prevalence of stress-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and depression. PTSD treatments are increasingly incorporating information technology; however, progress in utilizing information technology tools within training programs designed to strengthen mental resilience before potentially traumatic event exposures are nascent. This research proposes an innovative new approach for the prevention of both physical and mental injury in firefighters proposing a new form of personalized resilience training platform that utilizes: 1) the UOIT ACE Facility climatic chambers to introduce controlled climatic stressors; 2) a range of physiological data collection devices to capture physiological response in real-time; and 3) a Big Data analytics platform (Athena). This proposed research will develop new knowledge for prevention strategies of PTSI to support mental wellness among PSP. The proposed research builds on our solid foundation of collaborative research including prior research to perform initial analysis of firefighter students and tactical operators. We will work interactively between the different disciplines to perform research and knowledge translation within the Fire Halls in our region and ultimately elsewhere while using cmputing research principles for the extensions to Athena for the data integration and analysis as our technological innovation and infrastructure to support research tool development. Our distinct combination of researchers, past research track record, available resources, and equipment facilitates make this research very feasible. We will use leading edge artificial intelligence computational modelling to analyse physiological data streams to establish, validate and further develop information for population stratification. We will continue to build capacity through the training of early career researchers and HQP.