Posttraumatic Stress Injury among Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) First Responders

Summary

We are looking for BIPOC first responders who are currently working in Alberta to answer an online survey questionnaire.

First responders are at high risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI), including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety due to occupational traumas (44.5% of general first responders). Additionally, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) first responders, including those residing in Alberta, report racial trauma caused by direct encounters of race-based discrimination and/or historical and intergenerational trauma. Clearly, BIPOC first responders represent a marginalized group among first responders and are overlooked in Canadian society. It has shown that BIPOC first responders in Alberta report collective traumas such as racial trauma coming from racism, systemic oppression, and racial discrimination and occupational traumas due to constant exposure to traumatic events at work.

Your valuable responses will help us increase our understanding of stressful life events and psychological symptoms of BIPOC first responders. The findings will be helpful to counselors, researchers, stakeholders, and communities to better develop a culturally congruent program for BIPOC first responders.