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Public Works Employees and Posttruamatic Stress Disorder: an At-Risk Population

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Abstract

Although not widely known, public works employees in the United States were designated as emergency providers during critical incidents in 2003 and have provided these public works services, when activated. These public works employees may be either employees of a specific government entity or, more recently, privately contracted employees who provide similar services for a government entity. First responders working critical incidents are at risk for psychological trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is less clear, however, whether government/contracted public works employees working the same critical incidents are subject to the same risk of onset. This paper reviewed 24 empirical studies assessing this possible association from 1980 to 2020. These studies included 94,302 government/contracted employees. Psychological trauma/PTSD was reported in all 24 manuscripts assessing PTSD. Three of these studies additionally reporting serious somatic health problems. Public works employees are at risk for onset and this is a worldwide issue. Study findings and treatment implications are presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Raymond B. Flannery Jr

  2. Newton, MA, USA

    Raymond B. Flannery Jr

  3. Newton Free Library, Newton, MA, USA

    Georgina J. Flannery

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Correspondence to Raymond B. Flannery Jr.

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This is a review of the literature article only. There were no human subjects and therefore no need for an IRB review, nor informed consent, nor committee involvement, and no need to obtain consent to publish. Similarly, there were no animals involved in this review with no need to discuss and present a statement and review of animal welfare in this project.

The author has no funding from any public or private sources, no conflicts with property rights or any holdings by the author or any family members. The author has no commercial gain from this study and did not receive any honoraria, stocks, paid consultations, or referrals for this review.

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Flannery, R.B., Flannery, G.J. Public Works Employees and Posttruamatic Stress Disorder: an At-Risk Population. Psychiatr Q 94, 531–540 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-023-10014-1

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