Trauma-Informed Practices (TIPS) And Burnout, Job Satisfaction, And PTSD In First Responders

First responders are the frontline defense of society and consist of people that push back against chaos to keep our communities civilized and in functioning order. This study aimed to ensure that first responders’ mental health is adequate for home life as well as daily job functions, and to assess which Trauma Informed Practices (TIPs) can lead to positive outcomes in reducing first responder’s feelings of burnout, increasing their job satisfaction, and suppressing frequency of PTSD symptoms. TIPs are different intervention techniques that are designed to assist the individual with a variety of emotions such as anxiety, stress, burnout, and PTSD. These can come in the form of formal professional clinical counseling, training and education, or more informal peer support groups. However, TIPs and any potential associations with PTSD, burnout, and job satisfaction are still unknown. This research utilized a cross-sectional quantitative survey design with between-subjects to evaluate these possible findings with two stratifications of years of service and geographical location. The results indicated that training and education usage was associated with high job satisfaction, and professional counseling use was linked to higher PTSD scores. Additionally, late career first responders showed resiliency against PTSD and burnout when compared to early and mid-career first responders respectively. These findings show that TIPs can make a meaningful difference, and experience certainly plays a role to this end. These findings should be utilized by future researchers to build upon longitudinal or qualitative research and potential implications to policymakers and leaders are numerous.