Every day, volunteers rush into floods, fires and road accidents, often facing trauma and danger to keep their communities safe. But who looks after them?
PhD candidate Natalie Roche is exploring the occupational health and safety experiences of emergency management volunteers.
“Volunteers are relied upon by many governments and communities to provide crucial
supports to emergency service organisations,” she says.
“For example, Victorian organisations such as the Victorian State Emergency Service and Country Fire Authority play a critical role in community emergency response efforts and are comprised predominantly of volunteers.”
“These volunteers perform physically and emotionally demanding tasks under stressful conditions and can be exposed to distressing incidents involving death.”
Natalie’s research aims to understand how emergency management volunteers deal with this exposure, with the aim of improving how they can be supported.
“Our analysis revealed a five-level system model shaping emergency management volunteers' OHS experiences including personal characteristics, individual experiences, local context, organisational context and emergency services context.”
“Each level influences the ability of emergency management volunteers to develop self-management strategies to mitigate the impacts of their job.”
She says the findings have significant implications for public policy and resource management within the emergency management services.
“Emergency service organisations should implement a range of evidence-based interventions to support volunteers and accommodate individual preferences for mental health supports.
Legislators and organisations should also focus on building a resilient, trauma informed volunteer workforce.”
