AFAC24 SOLAR-m: A mobile phone ‘app’ to prevent mental injury in Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters
The Front of Mind initiative involves the testing of interventions which provide prevention and early intervention support for NSW first responders. Emergency services workers are routinely exposed to stress and trauma, and there is a need to address mental health symptoms early to prevent psychiatric disorder and chronic impairment.
by A/Prof Tracey Varker (Phoenix Australia- Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health) and Kate Everett (Fire and Rescue NSW)
Through the Front of Mind initiative, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) collaborated with Phoenix Australia to undertake a large randomised controlled trial of the Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) intervention with FRNSW firefighters. SOLAR is an early intervention designed to prevent the development of mental health disorders. It is evidence-based, with previous randomised controlled trials involving SOLAR being delivered face-to-face, demonstrating its effectiveness. Through a co-design process it was determined that a mobile application (‘app’) format of SOLAR would be most appealing to FRNSW firefighters. SOLAR-mobile was developed and tailored
specifically for firefighters. It is a brief, evidence-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to address mental health symptoms emerging within the context of trauma, stress and adversity. In this trial, after baseline assessment FRNSW firefighters were randomised to receive either SOLARmobile, or a control app for five weeks, with survey assessments pre, post and 3-month follow-up. Optional telephone facilitation was also offered, to support uptake and usage of the apps. Analyses will be conducted within an intention-to-treat framework. The findings and implications from this app intervention trial involving over 130 FRNSW firefighters will be discussed during this presentation.