Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Lived Experience Australia Ltd, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Nov;30(6):e4522-e4534. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13856. Epub 2022 Jun 5.
The objective of this phenomenological study was to describe families' experiences of supporting veterans and emergency service first responders (ESFRs) (known also as public safety personnel) to seek help for a mental health problem. In-depth semi-structured open-ended interviews were undertaken with 25 family members of Australian veterans and ESFRs. Fourteen participants were family members of police officers. Data were analysed thematically. Participants described a long and difficult journey of supporting the person's help-seeking across six themes. Traumatic exposures, bullying in the workplace and lack of organisational support experienced by veterans/ESFRs caused significant family distress. Families played a vital role in help-seeking but were largely ignored by veteran/ESFR organisations. The research provides a rich understanding of distress and moral injury that is experienced not only by the service members but is transferred vicariously to their family within the mental health help-seeking journey. Veteran and ESFR organisations and mental health services need to shift from a predominant view of distress as located within an individual (intrapsychic) towards a life-course view of distress as impacting families and which is more relational, systemic, cultural and contextual.
本现象学研究的目的在于描述家庭在支持退伍军人和应急服务第一响应者（也称为公共安全人员）寻求心理健康问题帮助方面的体验。对 25 名澳大利亚退伍军人和应急服务第一响应者的家属进行了深入的半结构化开放式访谈。14 名参与者是警察的家属。对数据进行了主题分析。参与者描述了支持当事人寻求帮助的漫长而艰难的旅程，涉及六个主题。退伍军人/应急服务第一响应者经历的创伤性暴露、工作场所欺凌和缺乏组织支持，给家庭带来了巨大的痛苦。家庭在寻求帮助方面发挥了至关重要的作用，但在很大程度上被退伍军人/应急服务第一响应者组织所忽视。这项研究深入了解了不仅在服务成员中经历的困扰和道德伤害，而且还在心理健康寻求帮助的过程中间接地传递给他们的家人。退伍军人和应急服务第一响应者组织以及心理健康服务机构需要从将困扰主要视为个体内部（内在）的观点转变为将困扰视为影响家庭的生命历程观点，这种观点更具关系性、系统性、文化性和情境性。
