Forgotten first responders: Australian surf lifesavers and lifeguards

Samantha Fien; Jasmin C Lawes; Ian de Terte; Pamela Simon; Nancy Joseph; Shane Daw; Murray Drummond; Talitha Best; Robert Stanton

doi:10.1111/1742-6723.13754

Forgotten first responders: Australian surf lifesavers and lifeguards

Emerg Med Australas. 2021 Jun;33(3):572-574. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.13754. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Authors

Samantha Fien¹, Jasmin C Lawes², Ian de Terte³, Pamela Simon², Nancy Joseph², Shane Daw², Murray Drummond^{4

5}, Talitha Best⁶, Robert Stanton^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Mackay, Queensland, Australia.
² Coastal Safety, Surf Life Saving Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
³ School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
⁴ College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁵ Sport, Health, Activity, Performance and Exercise Research Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁶ School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁷ Appleton Institute - Adelaide Campus, Central Queensland University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
⁸ School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 33655699
DOI: 10.1111/1742-6723.13754

Abstract

First responders often face traumatic and emotionally-taxing incidents in their role. Understanding their mental health and coping capacity is important for wellbeing and continued service delivery. Surf lifesavers and lifeguards are an under researched yet a vital part of the first responder workforce. The recent Senate Report on first responders explored mental health in the leading emergency services personnel in Australia and found a high incidence of mental health difficulties in those who worked or volunteered as emergency responders. However, a significant literature gap exists regarding mental health of surf lifesavers and lifeguards in both the international and Australian context. Here we propose a strategy to address this gap, at the individual, organisational and community level.

Keywords: emergency responder; lifeguard; lifesaver; mental health; volunteer.