Autonomic Modulation Training for Police Exposed to Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries

Summary

Police officers are exposed to hazardous, disturbing events that impose stress and long-term trauma. Upwards of 15-26% of public safety personnel (PSP) report one or more mental health symptoms. Accumulated stress and posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI) result in chronic physical and mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease. PTSI are related to reduced occupational performance, absenteeism, and risky behaviour, with implications for both police and public safety. Recent empirical evidence and government reports highlight a mental health and suicide crisis among various PSP sectors in Canada. Prior research forms an urgent call for evidence-based programs that build resilience and wellness capacity to prevent PTSI symptoms before they manifest as severe, chronic, diagnosable disorders. The current study addresses the limited effectiveness issues associated with existing interventions for PTSI among PSP and also considers sex and gender as central determinants of health.

Advances in physiology and neuroscience demonstrate that resilience is maintained by the healthy functioning of psychophysiological systems within the body. Objective biological measures have shown that chronic stress and trauma disrupt both psychological and physiological functioning, eroding resilience and reducing wellness capacity. Traditional interventions to build resilience among PSP have not adequately addressed the physiological underpinnings that lead to mental and physical health conditions, as well as burnout and fatigue following trauma. Together with previous empirical research lead by the NPA, the current proposal addresses this gap in PSP intervention research by employing Autonomic Modulation Training (AMT), a biological approach to building resilience and wellness capacity among PSP exposed to PTSI. Prior research shows that core AMT techniques effectively reduce psychophysiological stress and mental health symptoms in clinical and non-clinical populations. Further, research has shown that AMT techniques improve police health and occupational performance when completed during scenario-based, in-person training.

The aim of the proposed study is to test if a web-based delivery of AMT for police officers can build resilience and wellness capacity, and reduce symptoms of PTSI with similar effectiveness as in-person training. An additional novel scientific contribution of the current proposal includes an examination of sex and gender in baseline biological presentation of PTSI among police, and in response to a resilience building intervention.

Conditions

• Stress, Physiological
• Stress, Psychological

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Autonomic Modulation Training

AMT is a six week online behavioral intervention comprised of two components. The first component is an adapted (to online format) version of an established and publicly available HRVBF protocol (Lehrer et al, 2013, Biofeedback).The second is the integration of meta-cognitive coping skills and autonomic modulation breathing techniques into the HRVBF protocol (Arpaia \& Andersen, 2019 Frontiers in Psychiatry; Andersen, Arpaia \& Gustafsberg, 2021 Int J Emerg Ment Health and Human Resilience).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Toronto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Judith P Andersen, PhD · University of Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-01-30

Primary Completion

2025-12-31

Completion

2026-04-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations