Mental Health and Wellbeing in High-Risk Occupational Groups
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1545
Special Issue Editors
Interests: work health and safety; wellbeing, stress; psychosocial hazards
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It is commonly known that workers in different occupational groups face varying and often unique challenges, with high-risk occupations traditionally being considered first responders, healthcare workers, and combat personnel because they frequently expose workers to traumatic events, high levels of stress, and long hours. There is increasing recognition, however, that other aspects of work, such as the location of work and the work arrangements that individuals are employed under (contract, remote and fly-in–fly-out work), influence the mental health and wellbeing of workers, meaning that occupational groups previously not considered high risk are now in need of consideration.
For all organisations employing high-risk occupational groups, it is essential to recognise the unique stressors that individuals face and take proactive steps to support their mental health and wellbeing and minimise the risk of workers developing mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Traditionally, organisational interventions have focused on access to mental health resources, such as counselling services, support groups, and mental health days, as well as providing stress management training and regular mental health screenings and encouraging open communication in the workplace. There is limited published empirical evidence of the effectiveness of these interventions, and there are very few frameworks to guide organisational efforts and promote health and wellbeing in high-risk occupational groups.
This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on advances in our understanding of the workplace hazards that give rise to occupational groups being at high risk for poor mental health and wellbeing. Submissions dealing with innovative organisational interventions to control the unique hazards faced by high-risk workers, as well as interventions to promote the flourishing aspects of work, are also welcome, especially those combining forward-looking, dynamic, and organisation-wide mental health programs with prominent intervention theories.
Dr. Rebecca Loudoun
Prof. Dr. Keith Townsend
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- high-risk occupations
- mental health and wellbeing
- emerging workplace hazards
- organisational interventions
- intervention theory
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