Research and Coordination Hubs for Public Safety
The objective of the Research and Coordination Hubs for Public Safety program is to build the evidence base around effective support models for public safety personnel (PSP) experiencing post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI), using an implementation science lens. A series of three sequential funding opportunities are planned, with two streams of research that will be supported across all three funding opportunities (i.e., a three-stage approach with two parallel streams).
The first stream aims to build the evidence base for a crisis/suicide prevention line, leveraging the support of Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) for the development of a pan-Canadian Suicide Prevention Service (CSPS). This was announced in Budget 2019 and the crisis/suicide prevention line will be housed at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
The second stream is app-based peer-to-peer (P2P) support, building on the work of one of the original PTSI in PSP Catalyst grants to create a pan-Canadian PSP support app (“PeerOnCall”), in partnership with Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC). These streams were identified through extensive consultations with key stakeholders, and the two identified hubs represent the leading national activities in each of these areas.
In January 2022, CIHR funded the two recipients of the Research and Coordination Hubs for Public Safety funding opportunity. This funding opportunity represents the first stage, to establish research and coordination hubs for each of the two streams using a hub-and-spoke design. These hubs will serve dual roles:
- Undertake research activities to build the evidence base and address key underlying research questions around these support models for PSP, and
- Provide research supports for external independent research groups to address additional questions using the core technologies/methodologies available at the hubs.
Crisis/Suicide Prevention Line
A Theory and Practice Informed Approach to Crisis Intervention for Public Safety Personnel in Canada - Identifying Knowledge Gaps to Inform Action
Allison Crawford and Chantalle Clarkin
Principal investigators:
Allison Crawford and Chantalle Clarkin
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
App-Based Peer-to-Peer Support
"PeerOnCall" Peer-to-Peer Support: Research and Coordination Hub
Sandra Moll
Principal investigator:
Sandra Moll
McMaster University
This work will be supported by two subsequent funding opportunities open to the broader research community to work directly with the hubs. The core objectives of these funding opportunities will be to address the pressing needs of PSP organizations and support service providers in providing effective and evidence-based supports for PSP experiencing PTSI:
- Contribute to improved health of PSP with PTSI by generating evidence around the merit, validity, and appropriateness of the two targeted support systems.
- Assess the impacts of these two support systems on PSP, including through novel and innovative research approaches.
- Contribute to the development of sustainable support systems for PSP by catalyzing research on potentially effective support models (e.g., evidence summaries, best practices, and guidance documents).
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