title: Evaluation of Stress Experienced by Emergency Telecommunications Personnel Employed in a Large Metropolitan Police Department.
abstract: Emergency telecommunications personnel (ETCP) form the hub of police agencies and persistently deal with distressing situations on a daily basis, making them highly susceptible to psychological and physiological ailments. To date, few studies have examined the necessity or feasibility of implementing a resilience training intervention for ETCP. In this study, the authors assessed baseline psychological data from the ETCP of a large police department to determine the differences in baseline measures for ETCP and police officers. Participants included ETCP ages 29 to 64 years ( n = 19). Results showed that ETCP self-reported greater levels of psychological stress compared with police officers ( p < .05) for the majority of measures; ETCP experience excessive levels of stress and greater prevalence of chronic disease. Consideration should be given to piloting resilience interventions within this group to manage stress; improve health, performance, and decision making; and decrease the prevalence of chronic disease.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Iowa.
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ramey
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Iowa.
authors.forename: Yelena
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Perkhounkova
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Iowa.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hein
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Ulsan.
authors.forename: Sophia J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: 3 Iowa State University.
authors.forename: Amanda A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000071822:Emergency Medical Dispatcher / Q000523:psychology*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000073397:Occupational Stress / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016495:Police / Q000523:psychology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: dispatchers; emergency response; psychological stress; stress; telecommunications