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Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation

Open Access 28-03-2024

Exploring the Occupational Lifestyle Experiences of the Families of Public Safety Personnel

Authors: Rachel Richmond, Rosemary Ricciardelli, Rachel Dekel, Deborah Norris, Alyson Mahar, Joy MacDermid, Nicola T. Fear, Rachael Gribble, Heidi Cramm

Published in: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation

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Abstract

Purpose

Public safety personnel, including first responders, are regularly exposed to physical, social, and psychological risks and occupational requirements. These risks and requirements extend beyond the employee and may also impact the families (for example, work-family conflict, compassion fatigue). Despite recent attention directed at the population’s wellness, considerably less attention is directed towards the family. This review investigates how the risks and requirements associated with these occupations affect families’ lives and experiences, and correspondingly, how families respond and adapt to these risks.

Methods

In the current qualitative review, we sought to identify and describe the lifestyle experiences of public safety families as they navigate the occupational risks and requirements of public safety work. The inclusion criteria resulted in an analysis of 18 articles, representing only police (n = 11), paramedics (n = 7), and firefighting (n = 10) sectors.

Results

We identified and described the experiences of public safety families both by occupation and familial role. Shared familial themes across occupational groups included ‘Worry’, ‘Communication’, ‘Where do I turn’, ‘Are they okay’, ‘Serving alongside’, and ‘(Over)Protective’. However, distinct themes also emerged between different occupational groups and family configurations. Themes prevalent amongst primarily children of police included: ‘Worry’, ‘Let’s Laugh Instead’, ‘(Over)Protective’, and ‘I’m not the Police, my Parent is!’. Experiences differed if the family contained on serving public safety personnel or multiple.

Conclusion

We identified the shared and unique occupational experiences of public safety families. This review normalizes these experiences and emphasizes the need to develop initiatives to improve the well-being of families and safety employees.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Exploring the Occupational Lifestyle Experiences of the Families of Public Safety Personnel
Authors
Rachel Richmond
Rosemary Ricciardelli
Rachel Dekel
Deborah Norris
Alyson Mahar
Joy MacDermid
Nicola T. Fear
Rachael Gribble
Heidi Cramm
Publication date
28-03-2024
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
Print ISSN: 1053-0487
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3688
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-024-10179-x