Clinical trial NCT03401684: The Resilient Minds Program in Fire Departments
Official title: Assessing the Impact of the Resilient Minds Program in Fire Departments
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Trauma
Critical Incident
Mental Illness
Keywords: firefighters
mental resiliency
peer support
Lead sponsor: McMaster University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Canadian Mental Health Association, Prince Edward Island
name: Canadian Mental Health Association, British Columbia
name: Canadian Mental Health Association, Vancouver-Fraser
name: Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services
name: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
name: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
name: University of Western Ontario, Canada
First posted: 2018-01-17
Enrollment: 600
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The purpose of the study is to assess the impact of a mental health training program in volunteer and career firefighters.

Detailed description: THE PROBLEM: Firefighters are frequently exposed to distressing events, or critical incidents such as motor vehicle accidents, burnt bodies, failed rescue attempts, threats to one's own life, and completed suicides that can trigger posttraumatic stress reactions. Previous research show that first responders and other public safety personnel report frequent exposure to traumatic events and are at increased risk for mental health illnesses.

THE STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a mental health training program in volunteer and career firefighters.

THE STUDY SAMPLE: 600 firefighters: 300 Prince Edward Island volunteer or career firefighters, 300 Vancouver career firefighters

INTERVENTION: Vancouver Fire \& Rescue Services and the Canadian Mental Health Association-Vancouver Fraser co-developed a new program called, "Resilient Minds-Building the Psychological Health of Fire Fighters." The Resilient Minds training will educate firefighters about the effects of trauma, how to recognize signs of mental health illness and how to access support after critical events. It also trains firefighters to recognize mental health and addictions in co-workers and how to facilitate their help-seeking.

OUTCOMES: The impact of the program will be assessed by pre- and post-program surveys, 3-month, 6-month, 12-month follow-up surveys.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years and older
* can read, understand, speak English
* career or volunteer firefighters in PEI participating in Resilient Minds program

Primary outcomes:
measure: Mental Health Knowledge
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Knowledge Retention
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Work Stress
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Impact on support levels
timeFrame: 0-12 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Self-perceived learning
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Helpfulness of training
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Utilization of training
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Critical incidents exposure and impact
timeFrame: 0 months
measure: Resilience
timeFrame: 0-12 months
Other outcomes:
measure: Traumatic Life Events Checklist
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: PTSD Checklst
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Public Safety Officer Stress
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Suicidal Behavioural
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Anxiety
timeFrame: 0-12 months
measure: Depression
timeFrame: 0-12 months
Locations:
city: Vancouver
country: Canada
facility: Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services
state: British Columbia
city: Charlottetown
country: Canada
facility: Charlottetown Fire Department
state: Prince Edward Island
city: Mount Stewart
country: Canada
facility: East River Fire Department
state: Prince Edward Island
city: Stratford
country: Canada
facility: Crossroads Fire Department
state: Prince Edward Island
city: Summerside
country: Canada
facility: Summerside Fire Department
state: Prince Edward Island
Study officials:
affiliation: FIREWELL
name: Amanda Brazil, MAEd, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Regina
name: R. Nicholas Carleton, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services
name: Steve Fraser
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: McMaster University & Western University
name: Joy MacDermid, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: