Putative risk and resiliency factors after an augmented training program for preventing posttraumatic stress injuries among public safety personnel from diverse sectors.

Mental health disorders are particularly prevalent among public safety personnel (PSP). Emotional Resilience Skills Training (ERST) is a cognitive behavioural training program for PSP based on the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (i.e.

Factors influencing the likelihood of females passing the Ottawa paramedic physical ability test.

The Ottawa Paramedic Physical Ability Test (OPPAT) was launched in Ontario as a physical employment standard for front-line paramedics. When considering pass rates based on sex, males had a higher likelihood of passing than females. To help understand how to improve pass rates among females we aimed to understand if factors such as participant demographics, college type, employment status and/or peak heart rate (a surrogate of fitness level) were related to OPPAT pass rates.

Assessing the impact of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) protocol and Emotional Resilience Skills Training (ERST) among diverse public safety personnel.

Background: Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., border services personnel, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events.

Sleep Quality and Mental Disorder Symptoms among Canadian Public Safety Personnel.

Poor sleep quality is associated with numerous mental health concerns and poorer overall physical health. Sleep disturbances are commonly reported by public safety personnel (PSP) and may contribute to the risk of developing mental disorders or exacerbate mental disorder symptoms. The current investigation was designed to provide estimates of sleep disturbances among PSP and explore the relationship between sleep quality and mental health status.

Assessing the Relative Impact of Diverse Stressors among Public Safety Personnel.

Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers and officers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and public safety communications officials (e.

Evaluating the effect of a strength and conditioning program to improve paramedic candidates' physical readiness for duty.

Background: The Ottawa Paramedic Physical Ability Test (OPPAT™) is a physical employment standard for the paramedic sector. If a candidate is unsuccessful in meeting the OPPAT™ performance standard they should be provided with an appropriate accommodation, such as a strength and conditioning program, to improve performance.

Objective: Develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a 4-week strength and conditioning program on improving OPPAT™ performance and associated fitness measures in paramedic candidates.

The Ottawa Paramedic Physical Ability Test: test-retest reliability and analysis of sex-based performance differences.

The Ottawa Paramedic Physical Ability Test (OPPAT) is a physical employment standard (PES) that candidates must pass as a pre-hire requirement and that incumbents may have to pass prior to returning to work after absence, to demonstrate their physical capabilities as required to safely meet the demands of paramedic work. Consistent with best practice guidelines for PES development, it is important to establish reliability and to investigate sex-based performance differences. Active duty paramedics completed the OPPAT twice while candidates completed the OPPAT six times.

Mental health training, attitudes toward support, and screening positive for mental disorders.

Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g. correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police) are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs).

Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada.

Background: Canadian public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police officers) are exposed to potentially traumatic events as a function of their work.

Identifying the critical physical demanding tasks of paramedic work: Towards the development of a physical employment standard.

Public safety related occupations including police, fire and military commonly apply physical employment standard (PES) to facilitate job matching, an approach to evaluate if candidates demonstrate acceptable physical capabilities as required to perform the job safely and effectively. In Canada, paramedics remain as one of the few public safety occupations without an evidence-based, validated PES. The purpose of this study was to document and describe the physical demands of paramedic work and to identify the most physically demanding tasks.

Implementing powered stretcher and load systems was a cost effective intervention to reduce the incidence rates of stretcher related injuries in a paramedic service.

Paramedic services are considering moving towards the use of powered stretcher and load systems to reduce stretcher related injuries, but cost is perceived as a barrier. This study compared injury incidence rates, days lost, and compensation costs between Niagara Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) and Hamilton Paramedic Service (HPS) pre- (four years) and post- (one year) implementation of powered stretcher and load systems in NEMS. Prior to the intervention stretcher related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) incidence rates averaged 20.

Relative Contribution of Lower Body Work as a Biomechanical Determinant of Spine Sparing Technique During Common Paramedic Lifting Tasks.

Paramedics represent a unique occupational group where the nature of their work, providing prehospital emergency care, makes workplace modifications to manage and control injury risks difficult. Therefore, the provision of workplace education and training to support safe lifting remains a viable and important approach. There is, however, a lack of evidence describing movement strategies that may be optimal for paramedic work.

Patient acuity as a determinant of paramedics' frequency of being exposed to physically demanding work activities.

Background: The purpose of this investigation was to examine if paramedics' frequency of being exposed to highly physically demanding activities, or their perception of physical, clinical, and emotional demands were altered by patients' acuity level, operationalized using the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS).

Methods: Physical demands descriptions (PDD) were compiled from thirteen services across Canada. The observation sessions took place during a minimum of two full-shift (12-h) ride-outs at each service.

Post-discharge outcomes after resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A ROC PRIMED substudy.

Importance: Assessment of morbidity is an important component of evaluating interventions for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Objective: We evaluated among survivors of OHCA cognition, functional status, health-related quality of life and depression as functions of patient and emergency medical services (EMS) factors.

Design: Prospective cohort sub-study of a randomized trial.