Trauma and coping mechanisms exhibited by forensic science practitioners: A literature review

Secondary traumatic stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and perceived organizational trauma readiness in forensic science professionals

“…Further, in the write-in responses, individuals reported stress related to excessive workload, quick turn-around times, and the pressure associated with frequent testifying. Both quantitative and qualitative findings in the current study are consistent with prior studies which identified multiple stressors facing forensic scientists including high caseloads and pressures to produce error free work [21][22][23]32].…”

“…In addition to the positive impact of individual strategies such as mindfulness, relaxation, and reflection [23,41], organizational strategies such as flexible scheduling, improved communication with supervisors, and education to assist employees in recognizing and mitigating stress have been identified as important interventions [32]. In this regard, the "Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act: Report to Congress" [13] highlighted the relative lack of mental health and wellness services available to unsworn compared to sworn professionals.…”

“…A recent National Institute of Justice (NIJ) report to Congress on the Needs Assessment of Forensic Laboratories and Medical Examiner/Coroner Offices indicated that personnel need resources to address workforce stress and vicarious trauma associated with the various forensic science work environments and that forensic agencies and management can implement strategies that support operational readiness, organizational health, and workforce resiliency [22]. Additional observations by forensic science professionals themselves [23,24] identified stressors including exposure to traumatic scenes, evidence, and other case material, expectations for perfection (or “zero tolerance” for errors), and work within an adversarial legal system requiring testimony.…”

Medicolegal death investigator workplace safety hazards: A scoping review of the literature

“…Flannery and Greenhaigh [23] conducted a systematic review targeting PTSD and coroners that included three studies [19,20,22]. Slack [24] also conducted a systematic review that addressed vicarious trauma as experienced by forensic practitioners, which in general were forensic nurse sexual assault examiners, judges and attorneys, and crime scene personnel in addition to medical examiners/coroners. Slack's article included the Flannery and Greenhaigh review [23] and the Brondolo, Eftekharzadeh, Clifton, Schwartz, and Delahanty study [21].…”

The right to mourn: Post-traumatic stress and the forensic pathologist

“…'Vicarious traumatisation; is a term which has been coined to perhaps explain the potential effects (psychological, physical, spiritual, cognitive and relational) of repetitive direct or indirect exposure to accounts of violent crimes. 12,13 There has, however, been a trend in recent years not to expose police trainees and medical students to the autopsy room in an effort not to traumatise them, and so perhaps a shift in training philosophy may be responsible for a subsequent inability to deal with difficult cases. 'Protecting' police and doctors during their training from confronting cases certainly may not prepare them adequately for situations where they will encounter dead, dying and severely injured individuals, in vehicle accidents, explosions or fires, for example, or with childhood deaths.…”