AUTHOR=Ioachim Gabriela , Bolt Nicole , Redekop Michelle , Wakefield Andrew , Shulhin Andrii , Dabhoya Jilani , Khoury Juliana M. B. , Bélanger Kathy , Williams Sarah , Chomistek Tessa , Teckchandani Taylor A. , Price Jill A. B. , Maguire Kirby Q. , Carleton R. Nicholas 

TITLE=Evaluating the before operational stress program: comparing in-person and virtual delivery

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382614

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382614

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Introduction</title><p>Public safety personnel (PSP) are at increased risk for posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI). Before Operational Stress (BOS) is a mental health program for PSP with preliminary support mitigating PTSI. The current study compared the effectiveness of delivering BOS in-person by a registered clinician (i.e., Intensive) to virtually delivery by a trained clinician (i.e., Classroom).</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>Canadian PSP completed the Intensive (<italic>n</italic> = 118; 61.9% male) or Classroom (<italic>n</italic> = 149; 50.3% male) program, with self-report surveys at pre-, post-, 1 month, and 4 months follow-ups.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Multilevel modelling evidenced comparable reductions in anxiety (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05, ES = 0.21) and emotional regulation difficulties (<italic>p</italic>s &lt; 0.05, ESs = 0.20, 0.25) over time with no significant difference between modalities. Participants discussed benefits of the delivery modality they received.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Discussion</title><p>The results support virtual delivery of the BOS program (Classroom) as an accessible mental health training option for PSP, producing effects comparable to in-person delivery by clinicians.</p></sec>