If you’ve ever called 911, you know that the people on the other end of the phone act as a lifeline. While presented with extreme emergencies, they are trained to keep calm, provide clear direction and help callers manage difficult situations until help arrives. 

Public safety communicators, including 911 operators, call-takers, dispatchers and tactical support communicators, also gather crucial information from people who are in distress. It’s a demanding job that requires a high level of skill and resilience. Responding effectively to incidents can involve deciphering concealed messages of distress and exposure to violent and disturbing events. Sometimes they even testify in court. 

But these workers receive little attention from the public, and occupational health and safety in this field – especially the mental health and wellness of those in this line of work – tends to be overlooked. 

Researchers from MacEwan University, the University of Winnipeg and Memorial University want to change that. With support from a $150,000 research grant from the Government of Alberta, the research team will examine the mental health and wellness of public safety communicators across the province. 

Directed by Dr. Marcella Siqueira Cassiano from the University of Winnipeg, the team will look for operational stress injuries such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders and identify factors associated with them. 

“I am very grateful to the Government of Alberta for selecting our project and am honoured to work with and learn from individuals who are simply the best in their areas of expertise,” said Dr. Cassiano. “We will use this study to produce much-needed knowledge about employee wellness in such a crucial service for society.”

Researchers will also interview students enrolled in MacEwan’s Emergency Communication and Response program about the value of their education in learning to cope with occupational stress. The team hopes this will spark an interest in research within the undergraduate and graduate trainees who are part of the study. 

Each of the project’s team members has a different area of focus. MacEwan researcher and Public Safety and Justice Studies Chair Tim Williams plans to convert study findings into an enhanced curriculum. Assistant Professor Douglas Johnson will use his four decades of field experience to inform research design and data collection. Dr. Rosemary Ricciardelli, from Memorial University, a founding member of the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT), will look at converting study findings into policy recommendations. Dr. Stephen Czarnuch, also from Memorial, will consider the impact of technology advancements on employee wellness.  

“The secret of our project is collaboration,” says Johnson. “The whole research process will be participative. We want the organizations working with us – police departments, fire departments and emergency services – to have a voice in the project. While we know research, the services know the context and its limitations.”

Johnson said the team hopes to create “useful and deployable” knowledge. Johnson and Dr. Czarnuch want to ensure communicators are prepared for the evolving technology of next generation 911 and use this research as a platform to explore appropriate training delivery models to ensure communicators are aligned with any and all emerging technologies and societal changes.

Data collection will begin in fall 2024 and the team hopes to start sharing findings in summer 2025.