Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics

The work of public safety personnel (PSP) is inherently moral; however, the ability of PSP to do what is good and right can be impeded and frustrated, leading to moral suffering. Left unresolved, moral suffering may develop into moral injury (MI) and potential psychological harm. The current study w...

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Autores principales:	Lorraine Smith-MacDonald, Liana Lentz, David Malloy, Suzette Brémault-Phillips, R. Nicholas Carleton
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	moral injury public safety personnel paramedics firefighters dispatchers communicators Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/911b3a8c4a45495f9b7e7703fd2db265
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:911b3a8c4a45495f9b7e7703fd2db2652021-11-25T17:51:29ZMeat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics10.3390/ijerph1822121451660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/911b3a8c4a45495f9b7e7703fd2db2652021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12145https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601The work of public safety personnel (PSP) is inherently moral; however, the ability of PSP to do what is good and right can be impeded and frustrated, leading to moral suffering. Left unresolved, moral suffering may develop into moral injury (MI) and potential psychological harm. The current study was designed to examine if MI is relevant to frontline public safety communicators, firefighters, and paramedics. Semi-structured interviews (<i>n</i> = 3) and focus groups (<i>n</i> = 3) were conducted with 19 participants (public safety communicators (<i>n</i> = 2); paramedics (<i>n</i> = 7); and firefighters (<i>n =</i> 10)). Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and constantly compared in accordance with the grounded theory method. A conceptual theory of <i>“frustrating moral expectations”</i> emerged, with participants identifying three interrelated properties as being potentially morally injurious: chronic societal problems, impaired systems, and organizational quagmires. Participants navigated their moral frustrations through both integrative and disintegrative pathways, resulting in either needing to escape their moral suffering or transforming ontologically. The current study results support MI as a relevant concept for frontline PSP. Given the seriousness of PSP leaving their profession or committing suicide to escape moral suffering, the importance of the impact of MI on PSP and public safety organizations cannot be ignored or underestimated. Understanding the similarities and differences of morally injurious exposures of frontline PSP may be critical for determining mental health and resilience strategies that effectively protect PSP.Lorraine Smith-MacDonaldLiana LentzDavid MalloySuzette Brémault-PhillipsR. Nicholas CarletonMDPI AGarticlemoral injurypublic safety personnelparamedicsfirefightersdispatcherscommunicatorsMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 12145, p 12145 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	moral injury public safety personnel paramedics firefighters dispatchers communicators Medicine R
spellingShingle	moral injury public safety personnel paramedics firefighters dispatchers communicators Medicine R Lorraine Smith-MacDonald Liana Lentz David Malloy Suzette Brémault-Phillips R. Nicholas Carleton Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics
description	The work of public safety personnel (PSP) is inherently moral; however, the ability of PSP to do what is good and right can be impeded and frustrated, leading to moral suffering. Left unresolved, moral suffering may develop into moral injury (MI) and potential psychological harm. The current study was designed to examine if MI is relevant to frontline public safety communicators, firefighters, and paramedics. Semi-structured interviews (<i>n</i> = 3) and focus groups (<i>n</i> = 3) were conducted with 19 participants (public safety communicators (<i>n</i> = 2); paramedics (<i>n</i> = 7); and firefighters (<i>n =</i> 10)). Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and constantly compared in accordance with the grounded theory method. A conceptual theory of <i>“frustrating moral expectations”</i> emerged, with participants identifying three interrelated properties as being potentially morally injurious: chronic societal problems, impaired systems, and organizational quagmires. Participants navigated their moral frustrations through both integrative and disintegrative pathways, resulting in either needing to escape their moral suffering or transforming ontologically. The current study results support MI as a relevant concept for frontline PSP. Given the seriousness of PSP leaving their profession or committing suicide to escape moral suffering, the importance of the impact of MI on PSP and public safety organizations cannot be ignored or underestimated. Understanding the similarities and differences of morally injurious exposures of frontline PSP may be critical for determining mental health and resilience strategies that effectively protect PSP.
format	article
author	Lorraine Smith-MacDonald Liana Lentz David Malloy Suzette Brémault-Phillips R. Nicholas Carleton
author_facet	Lorraine Smith-MacDonald Liana Lentz David Malloy Suzette Brémault-Phillips R. Nicholas Carleton
author_sort	Lorraine Smith-MacDonald
title	Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics
title_short	Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics
title_full	Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics
title_fullStr	Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics
title_full_unstemmed	Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics
title_sort	meat in a seat: a grounded theory study exploring moral injury in canadian public safety communicators, firefighters, and paramedics
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/911b3a8c4a45495f9b7e7703fd2db265
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Meat in a Seat: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Moral Injury in Canadian Public Safety Communicators, Firefighters, and Paramedics

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