Editor’s Note – Hazards That Can Affect the Mind, Body, and Outcome

When first responders, emergency managers, emergency room staff, and others involved in responding to critical incidents go to work, they face occupational hazards that go beyond physical risks. As work stressors intensify, physical consequences may follow, including a negative impact on the responder’s health or even altering the outcome of the incident.

Take, for example, a situation in which police officers respond to a call of a man wielding a knife. After running away, the police begin an hour-long pursuit through the neighborhood, on the ground and in the air. The suspect eventually is cornered on his neighbor’s front porch but still refuses to surrender the weapon. One officer tases the suspect and, soon after, another officer opens fire. As the suspect is taken by ambulance to the hospital, the officers remain on the scene. The suspect may be in custody, but the event will continue long into the night. Emergency responders must make life-changing decisions in a split second; yet, sometimes psychosocial hazards contribute to the outcomes. In this case, only time will tell.

Many factors in the work environment can negatively impact a responder’s mental or physical health, as well as that of their colleagues. These psychosocial hazards can particularly affect people in high-stress, high-consequence occupations and others who find themselves in critical roles during emergencies and disasters.

The experts in this May edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal highlight how psychosocial hazards can have mental and physical effects on personnel and possibly change the outcome of emergency responses.