A Qualitative Evaluation of the Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Public Safety Personnel Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

Public safety personnel (PSP) are known to experience difficult and demanding occupational environments, which were further complicated by the COVID-19 crisis. While public safety research typically focuses on the impact of operational stressors on PSP functioning and wellbeing, relatively less is known about the types and impacts of organizational stressors and how all these affect social wellbeing during the pandemic. The current study surveyed Canadian firefighters (n = 123), paramedics (n = 246), and public safety communicators (n = 48) that continued to serve the public over the course of the pandemic. Participants responded to two open-ended survey questions about how COVID-19 affected their lives at work and home. Using an inductive thematic analysis approach, responses were coded to identify emergent, data-driven themes while drawing on existing theory for analysis. Across occupational groups, qualitative analyses revealed that the public safety measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated existing operational and organizational strains, including increased exposure to distressing calls, absenteeism and coping with alcohol, and a lack of support from management. Participants also identified financial strain and housing insecurity as stressors, as well as frustration and helplessness at others’ non-compliance with public health advisories and protocols. Communication surrounding the rationale behind government decision-making, the efficacy of serology tests, and rates of infection were also identified. Together, these findings offer a nuanced understanding of the interplay among operational, organizational, and social stressors experienced by Canadian PSP during the COVID-19 pandemic, illuminating their impact on mental health and wellbeing, and identifying targeted areas of focus for future planning and meaningful intervention to support PSP wellness.

1. Introduction

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) spread rapidly around the world and, on 12 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic. COVID-19 affected physical, social, and mental health worldwide. Psychological concerns, including symptoms of increased anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion were exacerbated among the general population [1]. During the pandemic’s initial stages, uncertainty about the virus was particularly pronounced, as evolving and unclear information fueled fears of infection, sparking widespread panic and behavioral responses [2].

The mental health of frontline healthcare workers quickly became a priority for research due to their exposure to COVID-19 patients and the increased risk of infection. Studies found significant increases in anxiety among this group [3], driven by factors such as direct contact with infected patients, inadequate personal protective equipment, limited access to hand sanitizers or soap, and pre-existing mental health challenges [4]. The prolonged nature of the pandemic also contributed to emotional exhaustion [2], and forced isolation had an impact on social health—an essential aspect of overall wellbeing related to one’s social connections and community [5].

Like frontline healthcare workers, PSP experienced heightened mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic due to their potential exposure to the virus [6] and combined unique stressors inherent in their roles. PSP, which encompass frontline workers such as border services officers, public safety communicators, correctional staff, firefighters (both career and volunteer), paramedics, police officers (municipal, provincial, federal), and intelligence officers [7], were designated as essential service providers and required to remain on duty throughout the pandemic.

Even before the pandemic, organizational and operational stressors faced by PSP were well captured in the literature [8]. Due to the nature of their work, PSP are exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs) at significantly higher rates than the general population [9], placing them at an increased risk of developing posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs). PSP are more likely to experience higher rates of mental health disorders such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, substance misuse, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal behaviors (e.g., ideation, planning, attempts) in comparison to the diagnostic rates of the general Canadian population [9].

Emerging research during the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the heightened personal and professional impact of occupational stressors on first responders, including organizational challenges (e.g., staffing shortages, inconsistent leadership styles) and operational pressures (e.g., incidents, public scrutiny) [10]. Central to this stress was the pervasive uncertainty surrounding the virus, the heightened risk of exposure, and the fear of unknowingly infecting others. These concerns were intensified by the requirement to continue in-person work, even during strict social distancing measures [2,11,12,13].

First responders—particularly firefighters and paramedics—were at an elevated risk due to direct, close contact with COVID-19 patients [6]. More than 83% of emergency medical workers reported exposure to infected individuals [13], which contributed to increased stress, burnout, and lower compassion and job satisfaction among these workers [14]. Over the course of the pandemic, many PSP faced continuous exposure to individuals with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infections, increasing both their risk of contracting the virus and their fear of transmitting it to loved ones—factors which significantly contributed to mental health complications [6].

Even PSP without direct public contact, such as public safety communicators, were not immune to the psychological toll. Many experienced vicarious trauma and secondary stress from managing crisis calls and absorbing the emotional distress of others [15]. The psychological burden was intensified by ambiguous and evolving public health directives, which PSP were often expected to enforce without clear guidance or institutional backing. This lack of clarity led to ethically challenging situations and further psychological strain as they issued fines and restrictions without consistent support [16]. The increased COVID-19 related stress, including that tied to ever-changing public health measures, may have exacerbated frontline PSP’s existing problems in their personal and professional lives [17], which could further compromise their physical [18] and mental health [6,9,10].

Several factors—such as working conditions, personal responsibility, personal safety risks, emotional demands, and varying levels of empathy—shaped the stress experiences of different frontline groups managing COVID-19 [19]. For example, resilience and adaptive psychological strategies were shown to buffer the effects of stress and burnout among healthcare workers, suggesting that internal coping resources played a critical role in maintaining wellbeing under crisis conditions [20]. In addition, sociodemographic characteristics—including gender, age, and managerial status—were found to influence levels of public service motivation among health professionals. These individual differences shaped how workers experienced stress and remained committed to their public service roles during the pandemic [21].

Given the role of PSP during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is reasonable to expect that the negative psychological effects observed in the general population, healthcare workers, and first responders would also be present in our current sample of PSP. While data is available describing the relationships between COVID-19 pandemic and mental health symptoms in a sample of Canadian paramedics, firefighters, and public safety communicators [6], there remains a need for more contextualized understanding of how the impacts of the pandemic were experienced by PSP. The purpose of this study is to explore the occupational and personal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among Canadian PSP who continued working throughout the pandemic. Drawing on responses to open-ended questions, in the current study, we aim to identify and contextualize the underlying mechanisms contributing to mental health and wellbeing challenges within this group. In doing so, this research not only extends existing literature but also offers a more nuanced understanding of the complex interplay of factors influencing PSP mental health and wellbeing. Thus, empirically and theoretically, it contributes to addressing knowledge gaps regarding how COVID-19 affected PSP at both work and home.

2. Materials and Methods

As part of a larger study on the mental health of PSP over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic [6], survey participants were provided the opportunity to respond to two open-ended questions, inviting them to describe the impact of COVID-19 on their life at home and work, respectively.

Eligible participants for this study included members of the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters’ Association (BCPFFA), the BC Paramedics Association, and dispatch centres. Respective managers emailed their members an invitation to participate in an online survey that was hosted on Qualtrics. Email invitations included information about the study’s purpose and eligibility and the survey link which included full consent information. Following the initial invitation email, participants received two reminder emails. Ethical approval for the study was provided by the Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB Certificate #6030697).

Participants were asked to provide demographic and occupational information (i.e., sex, age, occupation, role, rank, years of service, full- or part-time status) as well as to provide details regarding their confirmed or suspected COVID-19 exposures and associated actions (i.e., self-isolating, missed work, how long). The current study analyses focus on two open-ended questions asked at the end of the survey:

• How has COVID-19 affected your life at work? (E.g., job role, responsibilities, demands, scheduling, protocols.) What has changed? What has stayed the same?
• How has COVID-19 affected your life at home? (E.g., relationship and interactions with spouse/romantic partner, children, roommates, immediate family not living in same household.)

Participants included firefighters affiliated with the British Columbia Fire Fighters’ Association, (n = 123), paramedics from the BC Paramedics Association (n = 246), and public safety communicators from dispatch centres (n = 48). All participants completed the online survey between November 2020 and March 2021 (see

Table 1. Sociodemographic information and COVID-19 exposure rates.

	Firefighters (n = 123)	Paramedics (n = 246)	Communicators (n = 48)
Percentage that identify as male	96.7% (n = 119)	59.8% (n = 147)	22.9% (n = 10)
Average age in years (SD)	29.8 (9.7)	30.2 (10.3)	25.1 (9.4)
Average years of service (SD)	14.2 (7.5)	16.9 (9.8)	11.7 (5.8)
Reported having a COVID-19 diagnosis	1%	1%	0%
Reported a suspected case of COVID-19	13%	21%	25%
Reported a household COVID-19 diagnosis	2%	2%	46%
Reported contact with a COVID-19 case	49%	77%	52%
Reported a requirement to isolate	49%	54%	52%

).

Responses to the open-ended questions were thematically coded using an inductive approach, allowing for an identification of emergent data-driven themes while remaining attentive to existing theory [22]. In line with Braun and Clarke’s approach to inductive thematic analysis [23], we engaged in a flexible and iterative process that emphasized patterns ground in the participants lived experiences. Simply said, our approach was “semi-” or “half-” grounded as the themes were inductive in their emergence from the data, but the theory was not emergent—we drew from existing knowledge.

Raw survey data were imported into NVivo 14, with each respondent’s data coded as a unique case to systematically capture individual perceptions, attitudes, and experiences. Prior to coding, we constructed a codebook by reviewing responses and organizing the data by the emergent themes. We then used this codebook in our coding process, which followed an axial coding framework, beginning with open coding to identify initial descriptive themes. These themes were then refined iteratively through comparative analysis, allowing for the development of parent and child nodes that represented underlying patterns within the data.

Emergent themes were identified through aggregation, ensuring that shared and divergent experiences were adequately represented. To strengthen the credibility of the analysis, two researchers independently coded a sample of responses. Intercoder agreement was assessed, and discrepancies were addressed through collaborative discussion, leading to consensus and subsequent refinement of the codebook and theme definitions.

An iterative review process ensured consistency in coding and thematic coherence across the dataset. We looked at all data in each code to draw forth the underlying similarities in the experiences. Thematic saturation was assessed by continuous engagement with the data, ensuring no new themes or insights emerged with further analysis.

To ensure accuracy and maintain respondent confidentiality, direct quotes presented in the results section were anonymized, with minor grammatical edits made for readability while preserving the original meaning.

3. Results

This results section presents the primary themes emerging from participants’ accounts of working through the initial waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to explore the occupational and personal effects of the pandemic among a Canadian PSP sample who remained on duty throughout this period. Participants described experiencing significant operational and organizational stress, alongside compromised mental health and challenges to their social wellbeing. Their narratives reflect the unprecedented challenges, uncertainties, and anxieties brought about by the pandemic and offer insight into how these stressors were interpreted and managed.

3.1. Operational Stress

Participants conveyed a sense of exhaustion and fatigue as they performed their public safety roles as essential service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants reported feeling overwhelmed by an increasing number of distressing calls, including overdoses, domestic violence, and suicides—many feeling the instances escalated in frequency with the imposed public health measures (i.e., lockdowns). Exasperated by pre-existing pressures such as opioid and staffing crises, many felt they were reaching a “breaking point” due to additional pressures and occupational requirements imposed by COVID-19. For example, participants noted the following:

Between a staffing crisis which has been ongoing for most of my career; an opioid crisis which has been on-going for 6yrs and now a pandemic, I am starting to see myself and my colleagues at the breaking point. More and more people calling in sick for work; most everyone I work with is drinking more. All management seems to see is not people at the end of their rope, but just more delinquent staff, so more rules to follow and harsher rebuttals. This winter is going to be bad; we are probably going to have an increase in COVID-19 cases and restrictions; but we are starting to see more suicide calls than normal, and there have always been more suicides calls in the winter after Christmas. I expect more this year than any previous (Paramedic, #156).

The mental health toll of this pandemic is already showing, hence this incredible second wave, and the already mounting overdoses, domestic violence and abuse cases. Our frontline workers are getting tired, and there is no one to replace us (Paramedic, #242).

In the first excerpt, a sense of overwhelming pressure is conveyed by Participant #156, with grim anticipation of further challenges. The participant attributes higher rates of absenteeism, delinquency, and increased alcohol consumption among coworkers to the combination of challenges related to staffing shortages, the opioid crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants’ frustrations are further exacerbated by management’s perceived lack of understanding and action on addressing the root causes of such behaviours. The second excerpt further reinforces the overwhelming pressure faced by frontline workers, as Participant #242 highlights the exhaustion endured due to the heightened workload. The participant attributes the surge in overdoses, domestic violence, and abuse cases to the toll on workers’ mental health caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These excerpts detail how the confluence of ongoing crises exacerbated by the heightened operational stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic subsequently impact frontline PSP’s ability to maintain their mental health and wellbeing.

Participants also reflected on the emotional toll, even moral harm, caused by witnessing others downplaying the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, participants witnessed others fail to adhere to public health measures and precautions in both their personal and professional lives. Participants wrote the following:

Watching, hearing, and seeing people not care about taking precautions and dismissing COVID when we’re out here taking on bigger risk to care for others. It’s demoralizing, frustrating, and causes anger and sometimes despair (Paramedic, #339).

The most stressful experience for me personally has been knowing that COVID-19 positive patients and household members ignore isolation orders and go in public. Because of this I am more fearful of getting the virus in the community while not at work and I’m frustrated and disappointed that I’m working hard, and people are clueless to their impact on health care workers (Paramedic, #190)

In the first excerpt, Participant #339 expressed feelings of frustration and demoralization after observing others disregard COVID-19 precautions as they persist in their duties despite the heightened risk. The sentiment is further reinforced in the second excerpt, where Participant #190 expressed experiencing fear because of others’ non-adherence to precautions, identifying non-adherence as a primary source of their stress. Overall, some participants identified a need to disengage from their social media accounts as a means of self-protection to escape the frustration of observing individuals dismissing public health advisories and protocols.

Collectively, participants’ words demonstrate how PSP were already grappling with occupational burnout and experiencing negative effects on their mental health due to an overwhelming workload, and the effects of the pandemic further exacerbated these impacts.

3.2. Organizational Stress

Participants expressed frustration with leadership and management responses to the pandemic, citing a lack of acknowledgment of challenges faced by frontline staff and communication breakdowns. Participants noted how their pleas for support and understanding were perceived as underacknowledged or not at all, resulting in a bleak outlook on future organizational concerns.

Regarding occupational wellness, some spoke of inadequate psychological support from employers as a factor contributing to stress. To exemplify, a paramedic wrote the following:

I’ve learned yet another lesson in not being able to trust my employer in any meaningful way to do the right thing for an employee when they’re in trouble, even though there’s tons of propaganda in the organization touting that they support health wellness and mental health. When it comes down to it they’re more interested in putting ‘meat in the seat’ in some project so they can tick a box and say they’ve covered a statistic and that they are looking after an employee who is damaged and needs help. Not being cynical, this is just the reality of this employer. It always has been and probably always will be, which is too bad because the work of a paramedic is an honorable profession, and I am effectively, for better or for worse, addicted to the work because it is my journey of compassion (Paramedic, #318).

Here, Participant #318 revealed an apparent disconnect between what their employer claims regarding mental health and wellness promotion and the employers’ actions when employees are in need, leading to a sentiment of cynicism, distrust, as well as helplessness. Another participant wrote the following:

I experienced so much anxiety through March and April that I thought I had triggered by PTSD. I had to take several months off and was only able to sort out the root of my anxiety by going to a retreat. It was 90% work stress from feeling that my organization did not value me or make decisions to keep me safe in my workplace (Paramedic, #183).

In this excerpt, Participant #183 expressed a sentiment of being undervalued and feeling unsafe in the workplace, highlighting a lack of organizational support in addressing their psychological struggles. Both excerpts revealed a disparity between established organizational supports for mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and their actual implementation, contributing to organizational stress and fostering feelings of distrust among employees.

Several participants expressed financial strain as evidenced by concerns about their current rate of pay and stability, intensified by pandemic pressures including increasing costs of living (e.g., food, shelter, clothing) and housing insecurity. Here, a paramedic wrote the following:

COVID has driven up costs in this vacation town which has attracted droves of rich buyers, and it has caused economic crises for families like mine working for convoluted pay scales. Despite two jobs, I am about to lose my home and there are no family rentals in my town but plenty of AirBnBs (San Francisco, CA, USA) for people wanting to isolate from the city (Paramedic, #70).

Participant #70’s words reveal their experience with financial pressure, exacerbated by the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, organizational stress extends beyond the workplace and is affected by rates of pay, which introduces longer-term stressors about sustainability and making ends meet. Despite the government’s provision of ‘Pandemic Pay’ for a variety of occupational groups, pre-existing limitations in public safety resources restricted pay increases and further intensified financial burden among PSP.

Moreover, the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic also underpinned a sentiment of distrust and skepticism toward government decisions and associated regulations. Across public safety professions, participants expressed frustration with the perceived inconsistencies in messaging and guidance, particularly regarding mask mandates and other public health orders. Participants noted how such factors contributed to their willingness and adherence to COVID-19 policies, with selective negative effects on their mental health and wellbeing. For instance,

Some of the regulations aren’t logical or are contradictory or over the top, which makes wanting to adhere to them less effective! I also think that at the beginning of the pandemic when we were still learning things, a bit of over caution is smart and understandable, but with the vast amount of knowledge we gained in a short time to continue to implement regulations that aren’t necessary and are actually detrimental to the human psyche is not the right decision (Paramedic, #276).

Here, Participant #276 expressed concerns about government decisions and regulations regarding COVID-19 and how they were perceived as having a negative effect on mental health. The excerpt demonstrated a disconnect between regulations concerning COVID-19 and the dissemination of information regarding the rationale behind these decisions.

Concerns regarding the absence of comprehensive testing, particularly the lack of widespread serology testing, further fueled uncertainties about the true extent of the virus’s spread, leaving participants questioning the prevalence of exposure and immunity. Despite the demand for serological tests among participants, research at the time showed serological tests, while detecting antibodies in response to a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, does not definitively signify immunity or a reduced risk of reinfection [24].

The unknown relationship between antibodies and immunity necessitated a cautious interpretation of serological test outcomes, particularly among vulnerable groups such as the elderly or immunocompromised individuals [25]. However, this crucial information was not effectively disseminated across the population, potentially fostering misconceptions about immunity. Thus, there remained a gap in the communication channels between regulatory bodies, the scientific community, and frontline workers. The absence of emergent information about serological testing and its limitations signified a shortfall in transparent communication concerning the intricacies of COVID-19 testing methodologies and their implications.

Participants also criticized the emphasis on COVID-19 numbers nationally, which some believed to distort the reality of the situation and to perpetuate fear and worry. Participants expressed media consumption as a contributor to stress, with conflicting media reports from government(s) and a noted “information overload”, making discerning accurate information challenging.

Overall, organizational stress from the COVID-19 pandemic was fueled by sentiments of distrust, feelings of being undervalued, financial insecurity, and ineffective communication channels that fueled uncertainty and misinformation. These sentiments were not only confined to the workplace but extended beyond work, spilling from PSP’s professional lives into their personal lives.

3.3. Associated Physical and Social Health and Wellbeing

In the current study, physical manifestations of stress were reported as having an impact on coping abilities. For instance, a paramedic revealed,

Significant physical pain from the impact of pandemic stress. Back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, headaches, and joint pain. This seems to be how stress manifests for me physically. Being in pain increases stress and decreases my ability to cope (Paramedic, #367).

Here, Participant #367 described how their experience of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic led to physical pain, subsequently impairing their ability to cope with subsequently encountered stresses.

Participants conveyed the repercussions of isolation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic on both their social wellbeing and of those with whom they interact (e.g., “This is affecting my kids the most: stress, depression, anger, overreaction and struggling to find the good. It is the hardest on them”). Participants described feelings of longing for connection (e.g., “I am missing seeing, interacting, and hugging my family members”) and missing out on valuable life experiences (e.g., “I want to graduate, I want to travel, and I seriously really really want to hug my mum”). In addition to their own lives, participants reported worrying about the impact of the isolation measures children. (e.g., “I really am interested in how this is affecting young children. My 4-year-old is programmed to stay away from loved ones and especially strangers. You can see her fighting her own instincts to get close to people”). Overall, participants described how the isolation measures during the COVID-19 pandemic not only impacted their own social wellbeing and experiences, but also affected their interactions with others, notably their children, leading to concerns about the long-term implications for both them and their loved ones.

4. Discussion

Our study aimed to explore the occupational and personal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a sample of Canadian PSP who remained on duty throughout the crisis. Through open-ended survey responses, we aimed to identify and contextualize the mechanisms contributing to mental health and wellbeing challenges in this group. Our study findings reveal how the COVID-19 pandemic amplified existing operational, organizational, mental, social, and physical strains to PSP above and beyond the stressors induced by existing occupational demands.

Contributing factors that exacerbated mental health challenges included increased exposure to distressing calls, a lack of organizational wellness support and understanding, inconsistent public health restrictions, decision-making, and heightened social isolation. Given PSP are already at an increased risk for developing mental health disorders [9], our findings suggest the heightened stress brought on by the pandemic intensified pre-existing psychological vulnerabilities among PSP. This finding is consistent with literature revealing how COVID-19-related worry was significantly associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms in first responders [10].

Participants expressed feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by increasingly distressed callers experiencing overdoses, domestic violence, and suicides. Many perceived these incidents to have escalated in frequency due to public health measures, further intensifying occupational stress and potentially resulting in increased PTSIs. Our findings align with reports from PSP in British Columbia, who, already grappling with the ongoing opioid crisis [26], described reaching their “breaking point” amidst pandemic-related pressures that compounded existing challenges.

Increases in absenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic reported by our participants aligns with broader trends observed among healthcare personnel. COVID-19 was a major driver of absenteeism, with both the rate and duration of absences surpassing those recorded during pre-pandemic influenza seasons [27]. The increase may be attributed to the heightened demand for emergency services, coupled with the reported workforce shortages, which may have intensified the strain on PSP. Another contributing factor could also be witnessing pandemic denialism that resulted in people failing to adhere to public health measures and spreading misinformation in both personal and professional settings—which may have exacerbated fear of infection for themselves and for the communities they serve.

The reported increase in alcohol use among our PSP respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic aligns with existing research finding COVID-19-exposed first responders exhibited significantly greater alcohol use severity compared to their non-exposed counterparts [9]. Together these findings suggest that increased occupational stress and trauma exposure during the pandemic may have contributed to maladaptive coping mechanisms, like alcohol use. The extant PSP literature reveals a strong association between screening positive for alcohol use disorder and exposure to physical assault or sudden violent death [8]. Our respondents reported an increase in call volume during the pandemic that exacerbated stress levels and perhaps encouraged alcohol use as a coping strategy, albeit a maladaptive one [28].

While operational stress is often a focus in public safety professions and research, a growing number of studies demonstrate how organizational stress can be equally, if not more, detrimental to both physical and mental health and wellbeing [28]. For instance, managerial support is an organizational factor that when absent, particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, erodes trust in leadership and undermines confidence in leadership’s ability to handle future challenges, negatively influencing mental health and wellbeing as evidenced in our findings. Instead, emergency services where employees feel supported by management experience better mental health outcomes [29]. Consistent with Petrie and colleagues [30], our findings show that managerial support is important for PSP’s psychological wellbeing and is a modifiable factor that can mitigate organizational stress. Thus, we put forth the recommendation for organizational leadership to receive training on how to improve communication and support surrounding occupational wellness.

Communication breakdowns, perceptions of inconsistent messaging, and communication gaps between regulatory bodies, the scientific community, public safety organizations, and frontline workers contributed significantly to PSP stress. Navigating the changing public health measures were difficult for PSP to manage, creating uncertainty and increasing vulnerabilities to both infection and occupational stress. Nan et al. [31] documented the distress and uncertainty caused by inconsistent public health messaging during pandemics, and their findings align with ours, reinforcing that PSP, who were on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, were particularly vulnerable to the consequences of poor communication, including increased stress and decreased trust in leadership and governmental agencies. Given that there was inconsistent messaging and structural disconnections between key stakeholders that contributed to these communication failures, PSP organizations require clear and coordinated communication to ensure they are able to secure the frontline implementation of life-saving measures. The finding has implications for future pandemic preparedness, in terms of clearer public health messaging and stronger, more robust inter-agency coordination with accurate feedback mechanisms.

We also found that participants expressed how financial insecurity, which intensified with the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., rising costs of living, including food, housing, and essential goods), led to broader anxieties about housing security and overall economic stability. Financial insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic has been closely associated with declining mental health outcomes [32]. For PSP, where financial constraints are further compounded by limited government resources and capped pay scales, financial stress was concerning for some. While the federal government’s provision of ‘Pandemic Pay’ did aim to mitigate some of these financial burdens, it appeared to have limited long-term impact for alleviating financial strain among many PSP participants. The intersection of financial pressure and wellbeing highlights the necessity of a multidimensional approach to understanding organizational and operational factors impacting public safety wellness. Our findings suggest that financial instability extends beyond the workplace into employees’ personal lives, which highlights a need for policy considerations around fair compensation, inflation-adjusted pay scales, and financial support mechanisms tailored to PSP.

Finally, the toll of social isolation during the pandemic—particularly the reported effect on family relationships and children—aligns with studies like that of Zolnikov and Furio [33], who highlighted the negative effects of COVID-19-related isolation on first responders’ mental health and social wellbeing. Our findings reveal the widespread nature of social stressors, as participants experienced personal suffering and witnessed repercussions on their loved ones, especially their children, while grappling with a diminished capacity for meaningful social connections. Thus, a nuanced perspective emphasizing the long-term effects of isolation on social relationships suggests workplace interventions should extend beyond the professional environment to address the broader social and emotional toll on PSP families. However, there is a need for more research on PSP families to better understand the enduring social and psychological consequences of the pandemic.

While our findings empirically confirm expected trends—such as the increase in distressing calls related to overdoses, domestic violence, and suicide—our study goes beyond this by documenting the cumulative toll these stressors imposed on PSP. Our work highlights how these stressors intersected with pre-existing challenges, including staffing shortages and the ongoing opioid crisis, compounding stress and exhaustion to unprecedented levels. In doing so, we reveal how the convergence of multiple crises led many PSP to reach a ‘breaking point,’ intensifying occupational demands beyond what could reasonably be managed. This study not only reaffirms earlier observations but also provides new insights into how these overlapping crises, combined with failures in communication and leadership support, exacerbated the emotional toll on PSP during the pandemic, giving voice to their lived experiences.

While there is a growing body of research evaluating interventions targeting mental health and wellbeing among PSP, our findings suggest the current scale and scope of these interventions remain insufficient relative to the magnitude of need within this population—particularly in light of exacerbated stresses during periods of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore call on PSP researchers around the world to prioritize evaluating interventions, using control groups to assess their effectiveness and applicability across diverse operational contexts. Such efforts will build a stronger evidence base, ensuring that the right supports are available to those who serve on the front lines of public safety—before, during, and after times of crisis.

Limitations

The current data were collected through two open-ended questions embedded within a larger survey. Thus, while providing valuable qualitative data, we could not probe for more information or clarification as we would have done with interviews or focus groups. Further, the current PSP samples are limited to firefighters, paramedics, and public safety communicators within a specific geographical region (Western Canada). Thus, generalizability is limited both geographically and across PSP groups, especially for occupational groups that had varying levels of exposure to members of the public as a direct function of their roles. For instance, public safety communicators had relatively limited exposure compared to both paramedics and firefighters, while paramedics faced the closest contact in the transportation of patients. Additionally, there is the possibly of participation bias, as professionals who were more affected or dissatisfied may have been more likely to respond to the open-ended questions. This could lead to an under-representation of more positive or resilient experiences. Nonetheless, the current findings reveal organizational and personal stressors that were relevant and applicable across PSP groups, and other frontline or public-facing workers during the pandemic (e.g., transit, grocery, banking, security workers).

5. Conclusions

The purpose of this study was to explore the occupational and personal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on a sample of Canadian PSP who continued to work throughout the crisis. Through open-ended survey responses, we gained valuable insights into the interplay of operational, organizational, and psychosocial pressures that shaped participants’ experiences. Our findings reveal that the pandemic fundamentally altered the nature of both work and home life for PSP by introducing new stressors (e.g., fear of exposure and transmitting the virus), while also exacerbating existing challenges, particularly in terms of heightened operational stress (e.g., increases in distressing calls), organizational support, and social wellbeing. Participants’ narratives illustrated the emotional toll, heightened uncertainty, and anxiety faced during this period. The immediate and long-term impacts of these stressors on PSP mental, physical, and social wellness require recognition and adequate action in preparation for future pandemics or public health crises. By capturing the lived experiences of PSP, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on occupational health and wellbeing within the context of a global health crisis.