Advancing Peer Support Programming to Address PTSD and Trauma Among Canadian Public Safety Personnel and Veterans
PeerOnCall and PeerOnCall Support are the mobile health platforms customized for Canadian Public Safety Personnel. These apps have been created to promote early intervention, mental health support, and psychological health and safety among public safety workplaces. As of spring 2023 implementation is happening across the following Canadian services: corrections, emergency communications, fire services, law enforcement, and paramedic services.
PeerOnCall News
Call for Catalyst Grant Applications
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have a final funding opportunity for new projects. The selected projects will be required to build on the project, PeerOnCall. The Catalyst Grant recipients will conduct empirical studies addressing app-based peer-to-peer support for Public Safety Personnel (PSP). Questions must be related to the effectiveness, feasibility, development and/or evaluation of best practices, guidance documents and uptake of the PeerOnCall app. Areas for further relevant investigation may include (but are not limited to):
The nature of the peer support accessed by PSP via the PeerOnCall app
The app’s impact on PSP and/or their caregivers and families
The impact that providing app-based support has on peer providers
Providing additional training or feedback to PeerOnCall peer providers
Determining the functionality of PeerOnCall as a digital knowledge management tool
Implementation science questions related to organizational and individual uptake and use of the PeerOnCall app
The four selected projects will receive a maximum of $100,000 for one year of funding.
PeerOnCall Highlights
Look back on PeerOnCall’s first year.
PeerOnCall at the CIPHER 2023 Conference
In March 2023, CIPHER hosted a conference for all of the PHAC funded projects. This poster tracks PeerOnCall’s first year of progress.
Behind the PeerOnCall App
PeerOnCall and PeerOnCall Support were developed by researchers at McMaster University, supported by the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) at the University of Regina, and in consultation with public safety stakeholders across Canada.
Funders
Thanks to the following funders of the PeerOnCall research.
Project Team
Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) Team
Nicholas Carleton, PhD, R.D. Psych: Scientific Director
Donna King: Associate Director
Donna Dowler: Senior Project Manager
McMaster University Team
Sandra Moll, PhD, OT Reg: Principal Investigator
Jordan Leonard: Research Coordinator
Alana Camporese: Research Assistant
Ami Patel: Research Assistant
Correctional Workers Team
Rosemary Ricciardelli, PhD, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland: Sector Lead
Diana Gibbons: Project Manager
Brittany Mario: Postdoctoral Fellow
Paramedic Services Team
Renée MacPhee, PhD, Wilfrid Laurier University: Sector Lead
John Prno: Project Manager
Lorraine Downey: Knowledge User
Firefighters Team
Joy MacDermid, PhD, University of Western Ontario & McMaster University: Sector Lead
Robin Campbell: Project Manager
Margaret Lomotan: Project Coordinator
Public Safety Communicators Team
Stephen Czarnuch, PhD, P.Eng., Memorial University of Newfoundland: Sector Lead
Nadine Leduc, MA: Project Manager
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