Mind vs Matter

Personnel mental health impacts. 


9-1-1 dispatchers deal with many emotions and stressful situations.  Historically speaking, it has been assumed that 9-1-1 dispatchers were not victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because they lacked the visual stimuli of the event.  However, according to APCO  in 2012 a Northern Illinois University study negated that theory with their research that was published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress (Public Safety Communications, 2014).  The study indicated that 9-1-1 dispatchers are susceptible to PTSD even though they are not physically or visually involved in the traumatic event. The video below gives an overview of the study.

9-1-1 Dispatchers & Mental Health

 

Source:  Northern Illinois University YouTube video

 

Jennifer Dell McLaughlin makes an interesting point in her abstract of a dissertation, “The Use of Humor For Emotion Management On The Job:  An Exploration Of 911 Communication Centers.”  She states:

For 911 dispatchers, exposed to a myriad of calls, the stress of facing crises each day can be mitigated by the use of humor.  Any given call could range from mundane to a full blown crisis.  Could the dispatchers’ use of humor help avert the harshness of a caller?  911 dispatchers may package the event in a humorous way to prove they can handle their job and nothing gets to them as a face-saving strategy to show they are tough or emotionally impervious.  Could the ironic statements made by dispatchers about calls and or callers reduce the callousness of their comments?

 

Utilizing this theory, it could be assumed that humor would be an effective coping strategy to handle stressful situations.  Although it may be a temporary coping mechanism, humor does not combat long term PTSD symptoms.  Currently minimal training is offered on effective stress reduction and coping mechanisms.  The majority of the nation is still utilizing the legacy infrastructure and most information received via 9-1-1 is via voice only.  Yet, PTSD is a real implication for 9-1-1 dispatchers.  When additional services such as text, still and live video are integrated into 9-1-1 call processing, the impact on dispatchers will be substantial.  In a personal e-mail communication, Sherry Decker, 9-1-1 Training Supervisor with NCTCOG explains one of the future concerns is the telecommunicator “becoming part of the crime scene”.  Someone may choose to send a live video to 9-1-1 of a horrific crime in progress.  The telecommunicators will need to be prepared to be desensitized for those instances. 

 

In addition to PTSD, the telecommunicator will also become part of the chain of evidence since he or she will be a first hand witness.  This will require additional manpower to staff centers while video calls are processed.  It will also require more court appearances by telecommunicators.   While PTSD is still a newly discovered impact for telecommunicators, the number of telecommunicators being impacted by PTSD will  significantly increase with the implementation of NG9-1-1.

Public Education and Training Pitstops on the Road to NG9-1-1

Public education efforts must increase until NG9-1-1 is fully implemented in the region.  Since these major cities in Collin County are adjacent to cities that do have NG9-1-1 capabilities, callers may not understand why they are able to text in Allen and Frisco but not in the adjoining city of Plano.  Public education budgets are limited.  The 9-1-1 National Public Educator Forum offers free public education materials and ideas to assist agencies with limited public education budgets.  The NCTCOG created the following video on a limited budget utilizing interns, staff, children of staff, and movie-making software. NCTCOG Text to 9-1-1 Public Service Announcement 

Public education is usually focused on pre-school and elementary aged children.  However, the integration of social media and wireless technology requires a shift in focus.  It is equally important to educate the middle-school and high-school population on various ways to access

9-1-1 in emergency situations.  Media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube should be utilized to reach adults.  Significant improvement in massive 9-1-1 public education efforts are necessary as NG9-1-1 is implemented throughout the country.

Training will be necessary to address the processing of NG9-1-1 calls. 

Since federal mandates regarding 9-1-1 call processing are non-existent, state legislative mandates regarding 9-1-1 call processing vary by state.  Some states have limited or non-existent training requirements for 9-1-1 dispatchers.  The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) posted a training and certification survey on their website in September, 2010.  The following excerpt illustrates the issue of the lack of national training requirements:

APCO - What Does Your State Require?

Training.  In the comm center, it can be the difference between a bad day and saving a life.  Both callers and first responders rely on the skills and knowledge of their telecommunicators.

 “For the safety of our citizens and our responding units, they expect a professional to be behind that radio and behind that phone,” says Sherry Decker, 9-1-1 communications supervisor for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.  “Citizens expect a trained voice that can put their world back together.  They don’t care if the dispatcher has been there for one day or 20 years.  They just want the dispatcher to know how to handle their call.” 

 

Despite the need, there are no national minimum training standards for 9-1-1 telecommunicators.  There’s also little consensus on how much training in what subjects is necessary and how—and whether—to fund such training.  Each state has taken its own path.

As of January 1, 2014 Texas requires telecommunicators to be licensed.  Although it is progress, the curriculum for the course has not been updated recently.  Training curriculum will require revamping to include NG9-1-1 infrastructure overview and call processing changes for situations unique to NG9-1-1.

Training on the technical aspects of the equipment deployed is important.  However, it is vital for dispatchers to have a minimum requirement for practice scenarios utilizing the equipment.  Currently the ability to receive data is limited to text to 9-1-1.  However, the education efforts have successfully informed the public to utilize traditional methods to contact 9-1-1 when possible.  Thus, the number of text to 9-1-1 calls received in the NCTCOG region has been minimal.  Without ongoing practice and training, the dispatchers may become complacent and unable to retain proper NG9-1-1 call processing protocols.  Ideally, national mandates would be the best way to address the issue.  However, until that comes to fruition, it is important that local agencies implement ongoing training cycles for telecommunicators.

 

Why is the path to NG9-1-1 less traveled?

Unfortunately, a designated order of implementation is non-existent due to the recent introduction of NG9-1-1 technology.  The focus has primarily been on updating the infrastructure to support the consistently changing methods of data exchange.  Once an agency has determined the funding exists to upgrade the infrastructure and confirms they are able to meet legislative mandates, they must focus on the additional impacts to the center.  The implementation of NG9-1-1 requires agencies to review current policies and training to provide the efficient and accurate service the public expects.  Specifically, agencies will need to focus on the following issues prior to implementation of

NG9-1-1:  jurisdictional, educational, and personnel resources.

 

I began my career as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher in 1997 with the City of Plano.  I have served as a 9-1-1 Communications Supervisor for the last 14 years and I frequently instruct courses in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex to 9-1-1 Dispatchers.  I have witnessed the technological changes and the impact on 9-1-1 centers across the metroplex. Today I will discuss key factors in NG9-1-1 Implementation and I will begin exploring potential issues created by NG9-1-1 implementation beyond the initial infrastructure deployment.

 Key Factors in NG9-1-1 Implementation

NG9-1-1 implementation overhauls the current legacy 9-1-1 system.  In Wonsang Song’s dissertation, Next Generation Emergency Call System with Enhanced Indoor Positioning, he states the following:

The NG9-1-1 system must support various kinds of IP-based devices such as Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, real-time text devices, and video call software. This requires that the system should be based on a standardized communication protocol.  In addition to the IP-based communication devices and networks, the NG9-1-1 system must support legacy methods currently in use for emergency communications. In particular, the system must provide a bridge for the old PSTN-based telephone lines.  Integrating different devices and networks, both old and new, present a significant challenge.

The Current 9-1-1 System

Source:  Intelligent Transportation Systems

U.S.DOT Next Generation 9-1-1 Project: A National Framework and Deployment Plan

Although Song’s emphasis regarding integrating the old and new technology is a valid concern, it is equally important to address the secondary impacts created by implementation of the emerging technology.

Jurisdictional infrastructure boundary issues. 

According to NENA, “as of November 2014, the United States has 5,926 primary and secondary PSAPs and 3,135 counties which include parishes, independent cities, boroughs and Census areas (NENA - National Emergency Number Association, 2013-2014).  Since every PSAP is not necessarily responsible for one agency or jurisdiction, the 5,926 is a substantially larger number when referring to jurisdictional boundaries.  Compound the jurisdictional boundary issue with the lack of federal legislation and funding requiring a standardized platform for 9-1-1 infrastructure and the issue of jurisdictional overlap becomes even more substantial.  The map below illustrates the primary issue of jurisdictional infrastructure variances.

 

Click here to view the status 9-1-1 coverage in your area

The red areas on the map indicate areas that have Basic 9-1-1 or No 9-1-1.  Yellow areas show Enhanced 9-1-1 areas.  In either case, if 9-1-1 is available, wireless calls cannot be processed.  Since every area is not covered in green indicating Wireless Phase II has been completed, it is imperative that NG9-1-1 deployment offer the ability to process legacy calls in addition to the new technology. 

 Another important factor to consider in addition to the infrastructure requirement is the issue of jurisdictional boundaries between agencies.  NG9-1-1 technology allows agencies to achieve true interconnection.  The capability is an excellent enhancement when facing disaster.  For example, consider the impact of forecasted natural disasters.  It would no longer be necessary for emergency dispatchers to remain on site to process emergency calls.  The calls could be routed to an alternate site for processing during the duration of the danger.  The safety of personnel is important, but it is equally as important for the alternate site to prepare in advance and adequately staff for the influx of calls.  This issue is addressed in the personnel preparedness section.

 

While borders are able to be easily crossed with NG9-1-1 implementation, it is important to recognize that callers do not understand jurisdictional boundaries in an emergency.  The caller’s emergency does not have boundaries when attempting to obtain help to resolve the situation.  Since some agencies may have NG9-1-1 capabilities and a surrounding agency may not, it is important the public remains educated regarding the 9-1-1 services available in their area.  For example, currently agencies in Collin County serviced by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) have implemented NG9-1-1 and thus have text to 9-1-1 capability.  However, home-rule cities in Collin County such as Plano, Garland, Richardson, and Wylie do not participate in the program since they are not serviced by NCTCOG.

Come back to learn more about public education and training issues!