Association of Psychological Distress, Contextual Factors, and Individual Differences Among Citizen Responders

Abstract

Background Little is known about the psychological risks of dispatched citizen responders who have participated in resuscitation attempts. Methods and Results A cross‐sectional survey study was performed with 102 citizen responders who participated in a resuscitation attempt from July 23, 2018, to August 22, 2018, in the Capital Region of Denmark. Psychological distress, defined as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, was assessed 3 weeks after the resuscitation attempt and measured with the Impact of Event Scale‐Revised. Perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale. Individual differences were assessed as the personality traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience with the Big Five Inventory, general self‐efficacy, and coping mechanisms (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory). Associations between continuous variables were examined with the Pearson correlation. The associations between psychological distress levels and contextual factors and individual differences were analyzed in multivariable linear regression models to determine factors independently associated with psychological distress levels. The mean overall posttraumatic stress disorder score was 0.65 of 12; the mean perceived stress score was 7.61 of 40. The most common coping mechanisms were acceptance and emotional support. Low perceived stress was significantly associated with high general self‐efficacy, and high perceived stress was significantly associated with high scores on neuroticism and openness to experience. Non–healthcare professionals were less likely to report symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Conclusions Citizen responders who participated in resuscitation reported low levels of psychological distress. Individual differences were significantly associated with levels of psychological distress and should be considered when engaging citizen responders in resuscitation.

Collaboration between emergency physicians and citizen responders in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation

“…Furthermore, a recent study shows that 4 weeks after participating in a resuscitation attempt 86% of citizen responders had low perceived stress and 1%(1/102) had sought professional help due to psychological impact. Moderate perceived stress (14%) was significantly associated with specific personal traits such as neuroticism and openness to experience [ 31 ]. These results can possibly help identify citizen responders in the risk of psychological distress.…”

Evaluation of a critical incident management system on mental health in lifeguard organisations: a retrospective study

“… 9 It may only occur after the season when the lifeguard and the local supervisors are not legally employed. Screening criteria are essential to consider during the lifeguard selection process (eg, age criteria and personality testing), as young individuals 1 (<18 years) with high scores on neuroticism 31 may be at increased risk of highly perceived stress following a critical incident.…”

The effect of the GoodSAM volunteer first-responder app on survival to hospital discharge following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

“… 27 In Denmark, perceived stress was low in 102 people (surveyed in 2018) 3 weeks after taking part in a resuscitation effort, and very few reported symptoms indicating post-traumatic stress disorder. 28 …”