None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Emergency service personnel, such as fire fighters, are at increased risk of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As such, many personnel are required to attend group debriefing sessions following exposure to traumatic events. However, there is evidence that debriefing may actually increase the risk of PTSD and also distort eyewitness memory. Accordingly, in order to address these issues, the pre-briefing program "FitMind" was developed. The current study aims to investigate the efficacy of FitMind in enhancing psychological resilience and help-seeking behaviour in a sample of Firefighters. The efficacy of the "FitMind" program, a pre-briefing, resilience building educational program for firefighters, will be examined. The study will employ a 2 (Treatment Condition) x 5 (Assessment Point) design. Participants will be firefighters recruited fro Fire & Rescue NSW. They will be randomly allocated to either (a) Control group- training as usual, or (b) FitMind pre-briefing, which involves watching three DVDs approximately 30 minutes in total length, featuring real firefighters talking about some of the common, yet challenging experiences most firefighters will face in their career. The DVDs are designed to enhance help-seeking behaviour in firefighters, by encouraging them to talk to and get support from their peers, family or health professionals. All participants will be assessed upon their psychological wellbeing and help-seeking opinions/behaviours at (a) pre-intervention, and (b) six months, (c) one year, (d) two year and (e) three year follow up. The study is partly funded by Fire & Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW). FRNSW will not receive details of individual participants' data but will be provided with a report at the end of the study with aggregate data. This information will assist FRNSW in determining policy around programs for promotion of staff mental health and wellbeing.
Interventions
The efficacy of the "FitMind" program, a pre-briefing, resilience building educational program for firefighters, will be examined. The study will employ a 2 (Treatment Condition) x 5 (Assessment Point) design. Participants will be firefighters recruited from Fire & Rescue New South Wales. They will be randomly allocated to either:
(a) Control group- training as usual, or
(b) FitMind pre-briefing, which involves watching three DVDs approximately 30 minutes in total length, featuring real firefi
The efficacy of the "FitMind" program, a pre-briefing, resilience building educational program for firefighters, will be examined. The study will employ a 2 (Treatment Condition) x 5 (Assessment Point) design. Participants will be firefighters recruited from Fire & Rescue New South Wales. They will be randomly allocated to either: (a) Control group- training as usual, or (b) FitMind pre-briefing, which involves watching three DVDs approximately 30 minutes in total length, featuring real firefighters talking about some of the common, yet challenging experiences most firefighters will face in their career. The DVDs are designed to enhance help-seeking behaviour in firefighters, by encouraging them to talk to and get support from their peers, family or health professionals. Working in conjunction with FRNSW, potential participants will be identified through the recruit and regular update training program at FRNSW. Each class of participants will be randomized to treatment condition prior to researchers visiting the training centre. Researchers will attend the training centres at a pre-arranged time to briefly introduce the study to each class of training firefighters during a classroom training session, and participants will be provided with a copy of the participant information sheet and consent form. If they choose to participate in the study, they may then complete the questionnaire and hand it directly back to the researchers. Following the completion of the questionnaire, participants in the FitMind condition will then be shown the FitMind DVDs for approximately 30 minutes in total length. To monitor adherence, participants will be shown the FitMind videos by the experimenter if they attend the session and sign their consent. Their attendance will be logged using the consent forms and the experimenter will then play the videos upon completion of the questionnaire. Participants in the control condition will continue their training as per usual. Participants will be contacted via email inviting them to complete the follow up questionnaire online at six months, one year, two years and three years follow up. Participants will also be phoned within one week of receiving the email to ensure that they have received and understood it on their work phone numbers.
Sponsors
The University of Sydney
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Firefighters who are undergoing their training with FRNSW. Retained or permanent firefighters recruited through the Alexandria training centre in addition to other training centres around NSW (Albion Park, Armidale, Deniliquin, Kempsey, Penrith or Wellington).
Exclusion criteria
Under 18 years of age Not a current firefighter undergoing training with FRNSW
Outcome results
None listed