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Text4PTSI: A Promising Supportive Text Messaging Program to Mitigate Psychological Symptoms in Public Safety Personnel.
Obuobi-Donkor, Gloria; Shalaby, Reham; Eboreime, Ejemai; Agyapong, Belinda; Phung, Natalie; Eyben, Scarlett; Wells, Kristopher; Hilario, Carla; Dias, Raquel da Luz; Jones, Chelsea; Brémault-Phillips, Suzette; Zhang, Yanbo; Greenshaw, Andrew J; Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku.
Affiliation
  • Obuobi-Donkor G; Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
  • Shalaby R; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Eboreime E; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Agyapong B; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Phung N; Operational Stress Injury Clinic, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB T5J 3E4, Canada.
  • Eyben S; Operational Stress Injury Clinic, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB T5J 3E4, Canada.
  • Wells K; Department of Child and Youth Care, Faculty of Health and Community Studies, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2, Canada.
  • Hilario C; School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Development, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada.
  • Dias RDL; Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
  • Jones C; Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Brémault-Phillips S; Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Zhang Y; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Greenshaw AJ; Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
  • Agyapong VIO; Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36901235
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Public safety personnel experience various mental health conditions due to their work's complex and demanding nature. There are barriers to seeking support and treatment; hence, providing innovative and cost-effective interventions can help improve mental health symptoms in public safety personnel.

OBJECTIVE:

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of Text4PTSI on depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress-related symptoms, and the resilience of public safety personnel after six months of providing supportive text message intervention.

METHODS:

Public safety personnel subscribed to Text4PTSI and received daily supportive and psychoeducational SMS text messages for six months. Participants were invited to complete standardized self-rated web-based questionnaires to assess depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and resilience symptoms measured on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), respectively. The assessment of mental health conditions was conducted at baseline (enrolment) and six weeks, three months, and six months after enrollment.

RESULTS:

One hundred and thirty-one subscribers participated in the Text4PTSI program, and eighteen completed both the baseline and any follow-up survey. A total of 31 participants completed the baseline survey and 107 total surveys were recorded at all follow-up time points. The baseline prevalence of psychological problems among public safety personnel were as follows likely major depressive disorder (MDD) was 47.1%, likely generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) was 37.5%, low resilience was 22.2%, and likely PTSD was 13.3%. At six months post-intervention, the prevalence of likely MDD, likely GAD, and likely PTSD among respondents reduced; however, a statistically significant reduction was reported only for likely MDD (-35.3%, X2 (1) = 2.55, p = 0.03). There was no significant change in the prevalence of low resilience between baseline and post-intervention. There was a decrease in the mean scores on the PHQ-9, GAD-7, PCL-C, and the BRS from baseline to post-intervention by 25.8%, 24.7%, 9.5%, and 0.3%, respectively. However, the decrease was only statistically significant for the mean change in GAD-7 scores with a low effect size (t (15) = 2.73, p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS:

The results of this study suggest a significant reduction in the prevalence of likely MDD as well as the severity of anxiety symptoms from baseline to post-intervention for subscribers of the Text4PTSI program. Text4PTSI is a cost-effective, convenient, and easily scalable program that can augment other services for managing the mental health burdens of public safety personnel.
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Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Depressive Disorder, Major / Text Messaging Type of study: Diagnostic_studies / Risk_factors_studies Limits: Humans Language: En Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Year: 2023 Document type: Article Affiliation country:

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Depressive Disorder, Major / Text Messaging Type of study: Diagnostic_studies / Risk_factors_studies Limits: Humans Language: En Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Year: 2023 Document type: Article Affiliation country: