Development of an Evidence-Informed Solution to Emotional Distress in Public Safety Personnel and Healthcare Workers: The Social Support, Tracking Distress, Education, and Discussion CommunitY (STEADY) Program

Abstract

Public safety personnel (PSP) and healthcare workers (HCWs) are frequently exposed to traumatic events and experience an increased rate of adverse mental health outcomes compared to the public. Some organizations have implemented wellness programming to mitigate this issue. To our knowledge, no programs were developed collaboratively by researchers and knowledge users considering knowledge translation and implementation science frameworks to include all evidence-informed elements of posttraumatic stress prevention. The Social Support, Tracking Distress, Education, and Discussion Community (STEADY) Program was developed to fill this gap. It includes (1) peer partnering; (2) distress tracking; (3) psychoeducation; (4) peer support groups and voluntary psychological debriefing following critical incidents; (5) community-building activities. This paper reports on the narrative literature review that framed the development of the STEADY framework and introduces its key elements. If successful, STEADY has the potential to improve the mental well-being of PSP and HCWs across Canada and internationally.

Keywords: healthcare worker occupational safety; hospitals; job satisfaction; occupational health; organizational development.

Figure 1

Relationship between adverse physical and mental health in public safety personnel as reported in the literature.

Figure 2

Hypothesized mediation of intervention effect for each “Element of the Solution” selected for inclusion in STEADY based on literature review and consultation with stakeholders and experts.