Helen M. Stallman

Contemporary clinical trials communications • August 03, 2023

Helen Stallman, Kurt Lushington, Tamara Varcoe

Psychological distress is prevalent amongst hospital in-patient and may predispose patients to potentially preventable readmissions after discharge. A particularly vulnerable group are patients with cardiac disorders. This study tested the feasibility of a brief cognitive behavioural therapy consisting of an in-hospital coping session and a post-discharge healthy sleep session. Standardised questionnaire were used to assess sleep, coping/distress and wellbeing at baseline (pre-intervention) and one-month post-discharge (post-intervention). Treatment fidelity and acceptability were assessed at follow-up. Participants included 72 inpatients admitted with a cardiac disorder or reported to have a cardiac problem whilst in hospital from a single Australian public hospital. Most (83 %) participants found the intervention helpful/very helpful. At baseline prior to admission, almost half of participants (46 %) reported poor wellbeing, 19 % high levels of distress and poor coping, and 47 % sleeping less than 7 h per night. Following the intervention, 45 % of participants with poor wellbeing at baseline had reliable change in wellbeing at follow-up. Conversely, only 22 % of patients with high levels of coping/distress at baseline demonstrated improved coping/distress at follow-up suggesting smaller gains. On average a large 43 min gain in sleep duration was observed post-treatment in patients with poor sleep at baseline. Fourteen percent of participants were readmitted to hospital within 34-days of discharge. The coping and sleep intervention was well received with positive outcomes in patients especially those reporting high levels of distress for sleep and to lesser extent coping and wellbeing. Future studies to assess the efficacy of the brief intervention at reducing hospital readmissions are needed.

Australasian Emergency Care • October 18, 2022

Helen Stallman, Natalie Dodd, Matthew Warren James, Belinda Chiera

Background: Workplace sense of belonging is an important contributor to health and wellbeing. It may be even more important for paramedics to buffer against distress inherent in the workplace. To date, however, there has been no research on paramedic workplace sense of belonging and wellbeing. Methods: Using network analysis, this study aimed to identify the dynamic relationships of workplace sense of belonging in paramedics with variables associated with wellbeing and ill-being-identity, coping self-efficacy and unhealthy coping. Participants were a convenience sample of 72 employed paramedics. Results: The results showed workplace sense of belonging linked to other variables through distress, distinguishable by the relationship with unhealthy coping for wellbeing and ill-being. The relationships between identity (perfectionism and sense of self) as well as the relationship between perfectionism and unhealthy coping were stronger for those with ill-being than observed for those with wellbeing. Conclusions: These results identified the mechanisms by which the paramedicine workplace can contribute to distress and unhealthy coping strategies, which can lead to mental illnesses. They also highlight contributions of individual components of sense of belonging highlighting potential targets for interventions to reduce the risk of psychological distress and unhealthy coping amongst paramedics in the workplace.

Australasian Emergency Care • January 31, 2022

Natalie Dodd, Matthew Warren James, Helen Stallman

Despite threats to wellbeing inherent in paramedicine, little is known about how paramedics cope. This study explored the breadth of healthy and unhealthy coping strategies used by paramedics and student paramedics. A convenience sample of 198 paramedics and student paramedics completed an online survey. Wellbeing was measured using WHO-5 and coping using the Coping Index. Primary outcomes were summarised using descriptive statistics. Most of the sample had wellbeing (68%); student paramedics had significantly better wellbeing than paramedics. There was no significant difference between paramedics and student paramedics on healthy or unhealthy coping. Participants with ill-being had significantly fewer healthy and more unhealthy coping strategies than those with wellbeing, and relatively few used professional support (28%). Internationally, few studies have reported coping strategies in paramedics. This study expands our understanding of healthy and unhealthy coping strategies used by paramedics and student paramedics. The results support research that shows paramedic work affects wellbeing, however not that paramedics are at greater risk of unhealthy coping than students or the general population. The results have implications for both the prevention of overwhelming distress in the workplace and the need to increase the use of professional support to prevent unhealthy coping, including suicidality.

Psychology And Aging • September 09, 2021

Colleen Tully Wilson, Richard Bojack, Prudence Millear, Helen Stallman, Andrew Allen, Jonathan Mason

As the population of older adults increases, it is important to understand what may assist every older person to live well and longer. Using a systematic review, this study examined the longitudinal consequences of self-perceptions of aging (SPA), a measure of internalized stereotypes of aging, in participants 50 years or older. The sample comprised 21 studies published in English that used the Attitudes Toward Own Aging (ATOA) scale to measure SPA. Studies were conducted in the United States (10), Germany (7), Australia (2), and one each from Israel and Switzerland. Risk of bias was low, study design and assessment showed good to high quality, and the ATOA scale was reliable in all studies. Primary outcomes were physiological (N = 15; longevity and better health, health behaviors, and diseases) and psychological (N = 6; depression, cognitive function, and other psychological outcomes) rather than social. More positive SPA was consistently associated with healthier longitudinal outcomes, including better self-rated health and less obesity, greater longevity, better performance of the activities of daily living, less depression, and better cognitive functioning (including reductions in cognitive decline and incidence of dementia). These were both direct and indirect pathways and provide support for the consequences of aging stereotypes, providing support for Levy's Stereotype Embodiment theory. The results have public health implications, broadly as community messaging about the benefits of positive SPA and usual and healthy aging, and more narrowly in using ATOA to screen for middle-aged adults with negative SPA to prevent future physical and psychological decline. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Australasian Emergency Care • July 23, 2021

Matthew Warren James, Natalie Dodd, Chantal Perera, Lisa Clegg, Helen Stallman

Exposure to repeated trauma is an inherent component of paramedicine. Additionally, paramedics are exposed to threats that can undermine healthy workplaces, social connectedness, and health behaviour, predisposing them to overwhelming distress and unhealthy coping, including suicidality and psychiatric disorders. This scoping review aimed to identify how paramedics cope. PubMed, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched between January 1, 2010, to April 21, 2021. Studies were included if they used any research design to identify specific coping strategies used by paramedics. Three studies met the inclusion criteria-two qualitative and one cross-sectional survey design. There was a high risk of bias across all studies. Studies were conducted in Israel, Poland, and the UK, primarily with males. Two studies only identified healthy coping strategies-self-soothing and social and professional support. Unhealthy strategies identified in the third study were limited to negative self-talk and alcohol use, with no mention of other harmful behaviours, social withdrawal, or suicidality. There is limited research describing how paramedics cope, and in particular, how female paramedics cope. Further research exploring the breadth of coping strategies used by paramedics is needed to understand the impact of the work paramedics undertake on coping and inform prevention and support activities.