Patterns of Primary Care Use and Clinical Assessment Practices Among Treatment-Seeking First Responders
R. Andrew Yockey, Jeanine M. Galusha, Warren N. Ponder, Jose Carbajal, Christy R. Collins, Donna L. SchumanObjective:
To identify the predictors of suicide for law enforcement officers (LEOs), firefighters (FFs), and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
Methods:
We used primary care assessments of posttraumatic stress disorder (PC-PTSD-5), generalized anxiety (GAD-2), depression (PHQ-2), substance use (CAGE-AID), resilience (RSES-4), and suicidality (PHQ-SI). We conducted separate logistic regressions predicting suicide for LEOs and FFs/EMTs.
Results:
Among LEOs, 8% screened positive for suicide, whereas 24% of FFs/EMTs screened positive, respectively. There were no significant predictors of suicide for LEOs. However, for FFs/EMTs, depression was associated with an increase in suicidality, whereas previous mental health treatment was a buffer against it.
Limitations:
These data are cross-sectional and require analysis throughout the course of treatment.
Conclusions:
We demonstrated the utility of using primary care abbreviated assessments for first responders