Rural Contexts: Digital Interventions and Strategies for First Responders' Mental Health

Abstract

This perspective presents a discussion on digital interventions and strategies to support the mental health of first responders working in regional, rural and remote areas. First responders are often required to respond to traumatic, violent and challenging situations. Accumulative exposure to these situations can impact first responders' mental health, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common. Rural first responders have similar prevalence rates of trauma to their metropolitan counterparts. However, rural first responders are likely to experience psychological difficulties exacerbated by limited access to mental health interventions due to geographical isolation and limited availability of services. Geographical location and availability of services are barriers often preventing first responders working in rural areas from accessing interventions to help them manage their mental health. Digital adaptations of mental health interventions may help to fill this gap in rural health care. Despite the popularity of first responder research developing and evaluating industry-specific mental health interventions and strategies, there is limited research focussing specifically on the effectiveness of these for Australian rural first responders, and how other mental health interventions can be digitally adapted.