Indirect Exposure to Traumatic Incidents Can Lead to Psychological Disorders
Dispatchers who answer 911 and 999 emergency calls suffer emotional
distress which can lead to symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD), a new study reports. The research, published in the Journal
of Traumatic Stress, reveals that direct exposure to traumatic
events is not necessary to lead to post-trauma disorders.
The research was conducted by Dr Michelle Lilly from Northern Illinois
University and researcher Heather Pierce, a former 911 dispatcher.
“Post-Traumatic psychological disorders are usually associated with
front line emergency workers, such as police officers, fire fighters or
combat veterans,” said Dr Lilly. “Usually research considers links
between disorders and how much emotional distress is experienced on the
scene of a traumatic event. However, this is the first study on
emergency dispatchers, who experience the trauma indirectly.”
The research analyzed the responses of 171 currently serving emergency
dispatchers from 24 US states. The majority of the sample was female and
Caucasian, with an average age of 38 and over 11 years of service.
The dispatchers were asked about the types of potentially traumatic
calls they handle and the amount of emotional distress they experienced.
They were also asked to rate the types of calls which caused the most
distress and to remember the worst call they had dealt with during their
career.
The most commonly identified worst calls were the unexpected injury or
death of a child, 16.4%, followed by suicidal callers, 12.9%, shootings
involving officers, 9.9%, and calls involving the unexpected death of an
adult, 9.9%.
The results showed that levels of peritraumatic distress, distress
experienced during or after an event, reported by dispatchers was high
and occurred in reaction to an average of 32% of potentially traumatic
calls. A further 3.5% of the sample reported symptoms severe enough to
qualify for a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
These results are a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate on
defining a traumatic event, which takes place as official guidelines are
set to be published in 2013. This research supports a broad definition
as it shows dispatchers experience significant levels of emotional
distress at work even though they are not physically present during a
traumatic event, or even know the victim of a trauma.
“Our research is the first to reveal the extent of emotional distress
experienced by emergency dispatchers while on duty,” concluded Pierce.
“The results show the need to provide these workers with prevention and
intervention support as is currently provided for their frontline
colleagues. This includes briefings and training in ways to handle
emotional distress.”
