The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
<h4>Background</h4>First responders are faced with stressful and traumatic events in their work that may affect their psychological health. The current review examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, str...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272732 |
| _version_ | 1811274964246986752 |
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| author | Khalid M Alshahrani Judith Johnson Arianna Prudenzi Daryl B O'Connor |
| author_facet | Khalid M Alshahrani Judith Johnson Arianna Prudenzi Daryl B O'Connor |
| author_sort | Khalid M Alshahrani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>First responders are faced with stressful and traumatic events in their work that may affect their psychological health. The current review examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, stress and burnout in first responders.<h4>Methods</h4>Four databases were searched to identify controlled studies that examined the efficacy of psychological interventions to reduce PTSD symptoms (primary outcome) in first responders (including firefighters, police/law enforcement officers, search and rescue personnel, emergency and paramedics teams). Secondary outcomes were anxiety, depression, burnout, and stress.<h4>Results</h4>15 studies were identified, including 10 studies that measured PTSD, 7 studies for anxiety, 10 studies for depression, 7 studies for stress and 1 for burnout. Interventions were associated with a significant reduction in PTSD (SDM = -0.86; 95% CI = -1.34 -- 0.39), depression (SDM = -0.63; 95% CI = -0.94 --0.32), and anxiety (SDM = -0.38; 95% CI = -0.71 --0.05) but not stress (SDM = -0.13; 95% CI = -0.51-0.25). CBT-based and clinician-delivered interventions were associated with significantly greater reductions in PTSD than other types of interventions and non-clinician interventions, but no differences were found for depression. There was evidence of moderate to high risk of bias across all studies.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Psychological interventions are effective in reducing PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms but not stress in first responders. Further research is needed using high quality randomised designs over longer periods of follow-up. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:29:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a840f9fc95e64a99b4ab170a4871d66a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:29:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-a840f9fc95e64a99b4ab170a4871d66a2022-12-22T03:12:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01178e027273210.1371/journal.pone.0272732The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Khalid M AlshahraniJudith JohnsonArianna PrudenziDaryl B O'Connor<h4>Background</h4>First responders are faced with stressful and traumatic events in their work that may affect their psychological health. The current review examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, stress and burnout in first responders.<h4>Methods</h4>Four databases were searched to identify controlled studies that examined the efficacy of psychological interventions to reduce PTSD symptoms (primary outcome) in first responders (including firefighters, police/law enforcement officers, search and rescue personnel, emergency and paramedics teams). Secondary outcomes were anxiety, depression, burnout, and stress.<h4>Results</h4>15 studies were identified, including 10 studies that measured PTSD, 7 studies for anxiety, 10 studies for depression, 7 studies for stress and 1 for burnout. Interventions were associated with a significant reduction in PTSD (SDM = -0.86; 95% CI = -1.34 -- 0.39), depression (SDM = -0.63; 95% CI = -0.94 --0.32), and anxiety (SDM = -0.38; 95% CI = -0.71 --0.05) but not stress (SDM = -0.13; 95% CI = -0.51-0.25). CBT-based and clinician-delivered interventions were associated with significantly greater reductions in PTSD than other types of interventions and non-clinician interventions, but no differences were found for depression. There was evidence of moderate to high risk of bias across all studies.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Psychological interventions are effective in reducing PTSD, depression and anxiety symptoms but not stress in first responders. Further research is needed using high quality randomised designs over longer periods of follow-up.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272732 |
| spellingShingle | Khalid M Alshahrani Judith Johnson Arianna Prudenzi Daryl B O'Connor The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE |
| title | The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. |
| title_full | The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. |
| title_fullStr | The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. |
| title_short | The effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing PTSD and psychological distress in first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. |
| title_sort | effectiveness of psychological interventions for reducing ptsd and psychological distress in first responders a systematic review and meta analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272732 |
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