Emergency service workers are exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) throughout their career due to the nature of their role. These events can have negative and lasting impacts on individual mental health and wellbeing and their organisation more broadly. Tracking PTE exposure and organisational responses to PTEs occurs in various ways across many high-risk organisations globally, however there is a lack of evidence regarding the benefits of and best approach for such systems.
The AFAC Mental Health and Wellbeing Group identified the need to determine current best practice approaches, and through Natural Hazard Research Australia, engaged Phoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health to work with AFAC representatives on Best practice for tracking potentially traumatic event exposure and organisational responses.
This guide provides Australian and New Zealand fire and emergency service agencies with good practice principles for tracking PTE exposure and organisational responses to PTEs, to complement broader sector/organisational efforts to support worker mental health and wellbeing. Agencies may wish to use this document to help consider alignment of their current systems against principles, update policies and procedures and/or inform design or selection of future tracking systems.