Abstract

Emergency service workers (ESWs) are at increased risk of experiencing mental health symptoms. Little is known about the health impact of providing informal care to ESWs (e.g., their family and friends). We aimed to examine the health of Australian ESWs and their informal caregivers compared to the general population, using baseline data from ESWs enrolled in an intervention study. Outcomes included psychological distress, sleep, quality of life and physical activity. Participants were n = 30 informal carers and n = 34 ESWs. Results highlighted that the health of informal caregivers of ESWs is compromised compared to general Australian population data. Interventions should be expanded to include informal caregivers.

摘要

紧急服务工作者 (ESW) 出现心理健康症状的风险增加。向 ESW（例如，他们的家人和朋友）提供非正式护理对健康的影响知之甚少。我们旨在使用来自参与干预研究的 ESW 的基线数据，与一般人群相比，检查澳大利亚 ESW 及其非正式照顾者的健康状况。结果包括心理困扰、睡眠、生活质量和身体活动。参与者是n  = 30 名非正式照顾者和n  = 34 名 ESW。结果强调，与澳大利亚的一般人口数据相比，ESW 的非正式照料者的健康受到了损害。干预措施应扩大到包括非正式护理人员。