Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment

CIPSRT is a national network operating within the governance structure of the Collaborative Centre for Justice and Safety at the University of Regina that responds to the urgent needs of the Tri-Services and Public Safety sector to provide the best practical scientific evidence that will lead to real and imminent positive impact on the mental health of all public safety personnel.

The ongoing work and existing collaborations nationally demonstrate the need to develop, implement, and broadly use standardized assessment tools and procedures for measuring and treating symptoms of PTSD and other operational stress injuries. CIPSRT can provide:

Earlier interventions;
Evidence-based preventative actions for PTSD and other operational stress injuries (OSI);
Development of a Canadian-made global standard for researching operational stress injuries; and
Foundations for better mental health care for public safety personnel and eventually all Canadians.

For many public safety personnel there are two key barriers to receiving treatment: stigma and access. By reducing stigma and increasing access, mental health can be improved for public safety personnel who are highly visible community leaders. Positively affecting their mental health can change how all Canadians react and interact with undesirable stigma associated with mental health issues.

About CIPSRT

Partnering with first responder executives and associations, CIPSRT is a coast-to-coast multiuniversity team of top Canadian researchers working with key stakeholders on a long-term initiative to identify the tools required to support the recognition, prevention, intervention, and treatment of mental health concerns facing Canadian first responders and other public safety personnel.

CIPSRT Initiatives

Canadian Survey to Assess Operational Stress Injuries Symptoms for Canadian First Responders and other Public Safety Personnel.

September 1- January 31, 2017

Participating in this anonymous survey will help provide critically-needed information about OSI symptom prevalence (e.g., symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, panic) for Canadian First Responders and other Public Safety Personnel. The survey can also assess interactions between stress, symptoms, your family, and your workplace.

Numbers matter. We currently don’t have reliable data on OSI symptom prevalence rates. We are counting on you to participate and encourage others to participate because doing so provides evidence for engaging strategies and allocating resources to support mental health for all Canadian First Responders and other Public Safety Personnel.

To view the announcement OSIPrevelanceinvite-en

Évaluation les symptômes de traumatismes liés au stress opérationnel chez les premiers répondants et les autres membres du personnel de la sécurité publique au Canada

Septembre 1- Janvier 31 2017

Votre participation à ce sondage anonyme contribuera à fournir des informations importantes sur la prévalence des TSO (symptômes de stress post-traumatique, dépression, anxiété, par exemple) chez les premiers répondants et les autres membres du personnel de la sécurité publique au Canada. Le sondage pourra aussi évaluer la corrélation entre le stress, les symptômes, votre famille et votre travail.

Les chiffres parlent. Nous n’avons aujourd’hui aucune donnée fiable sur le taux de prévalence des TSO. Nous comptons sur vous pour participer et encourager d’autres à participer, car ce faisant, vous apporterez les éléments de preuve nécessaires à établir des stratégies et à attribuer les ressources pour aider la santé mentale de tous les premiers répondants et les autres membres du personnel de la sécurité publique au Canada.

Pour voir l'annonce, cliquez ici OSIPrevelanceinvite-fr

Publications, Presentations & Media

Publications

Mental Disorder Symptoms Among Public Safety Personnel in Canada

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. Such exposures contribute to the risk of developing clinically significant symptoms related to mental disorders. The current study was designed to provide estimates of mental disorder symptom frequencies and severities for Canadian PSP..

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry First published date: August-28-2017

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0706743717723825

Peer Support and Crisis-Focused Psychological Intervention Programs in Canadian First Responders: Blue Paper

Results from a review conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Regina have shown that there is an urgent need for more research on the effectiveness of peer support and crisis-focused psychological intervention programsdesigned to help First Responders — police, paramedics, and fire and rescue personnel — cope with the trauma often associated with their work. The Blue Paper was published by a research team led by Dr. Shadi Beshai and Dr. R. Nicholas Carleton with the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT).

The “operational stressors” that First Responders regularly confront at work, including death, violence, and threats to their own lives, put them at risk for psychological challenges, including post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and anger. Such challengescan lead to other problems, such as substance abuse, relationship difficulties, and absenteeism.

View the executive summary here Download the full report

Les programmes de soutien par les pairs et les programmes d’intervention psychologique en situation de crise destinés aux premiers répondants canadiens : Blue Paper

Vous pouvez consulter un résumé du Blue Paper ici

Vous pouvez consulter le texte intégral du document ici document

On the economics of post-traumatic stress disorder among first responders in Canada

Authours: Dr. Stuart Wilson, Dr. Harminder Guliani, Dr. Georgi Boichev, University of Regina, Department of Economics

ABSTRACT Journal of CSWB. 2016 Aug;1(2):26-31 https://www.journalcswb.ca

There is an increasing awareness of the tragic consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders in Canada. There is also an increasing awareness of the lack of understanding about the economic and social costs of PTSD in Canada. This article aims to briefly review the current evidence on the prevalence rates of PTSD, the economic costs associated with PTSD, and the costs and efficacy of various treatment strategies, to provide a framework for future research on the economic analysis of PTSD. Estimates suggest that as many as 2.5 million adult Canadians and 70,000 Canadian first responders have suffered from PTSD in their lifetimes. While we could not find any evidence on the economic cost of PTSD specifically, a recent estimate suggests that mental illness in the Canadian labour force results in productivity losses of $21 billion each year. Research from Australia suggests that expanded mental health care may improve the benefits of treatment over traditional care, and more cost-effectively. Given the methodological challenges in the existing studies and the paucity of evidence on Canada, more Canadian studies on prevalence, on the economic and social costs of PTSD, and on the costs and effectiveness of various treatment options are encouraged.

The full article is available at no charge, registration required, from the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/6