%0 Journal Article
%T Mental health risk factors related to COVID-19 among Canadian public safety professionals
%J Psychiatry international (Basel)
%D 2023
%A Wagner, Shannon
%A Di Nota, Paula M.
%A Groll, Dianne
%A Lentz, Liana
%A Shields, Robyn E.
%A Carleton, R. Nicholas
%A Cramm, Heidi
%A Wei Lin, Becky
%A Anderson, Gregory S.
%V 4
%N 1
%P 1-11
%X Public safety personnel (PSP) are known to experience difficult and demanding occupational environments, an environment that has been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Firefighters, paramedics, and public safety communicators were among the front-line workers that continued to serve the public throughout the course of the pandemic. The present study considered the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-reported symptoms of mental health challenges in Canadian firefighters, paramedics, and public safety communicators. Participants were firefighters (n = 123), paramedics (n = 246), and public safety communicators (n = 48), who completed an online survey, including demographics, questions related to COVID-19 exposure and worry, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Social Interaction Phobia Scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5. <br><br>RESULTS revealed that risk factors for increased mental health symptom reporting were paramedic occupation, self-identified female, younger in age, COVID-19 personal contact, requirement to self-isolate, and self-perception of COVID-19 contraction (without confirmation through testing). The COVID-19 pandemic should be considered a risk factor for increased mental health symptom reporting in PSP.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publications Institute
%@ 2673-5318
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint4010001