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Adapting the Primary Care PTSD Screener for firefighters
1Department of Mental Health Service, George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT 84148, USA.
Background:
By the nature of their work, first responders are at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Efficient screening instruments are useful to identify at-risk first responders and connect them to services.
Aims:
The current study aimed to (i) evaluate the diagnostic properties of the Primary Care PTSD for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5) scale among firefighters, (ii) explore the use of an adapted PC-PTSD-5 on a five-point Likert-type scale and (iii) examine sensitivity and specificity of the adapted instrument in this population.
Methods:
Pooled data were analysed among firefighters (N = 92) from a treatment-seeking sample (n = 36) and a population health screening sample (n = 56). Participants completed an adapted version of the PC-PTSD-5 and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed, referencing PCL-5 cut-off/probable diagnostic threshold scores.
Results:
The PC-PTSD-5 demonstrated excellent operating characteristics overall. A threshold of 3 was optimal for discriminating probable PTSD using a proxy for the original PC-PTSD-5 (range: 0-5), whereas a score of 9 was identified for the PC-PTSD-5 permutation that allowed for more response variability (range: 0-20).
Conclusions:
Our preliminary data suggest the PC-PTSD-5 may be a useful tool for brief firefighter screening, with suggested cut-offs that require further replication and expanded investigation.
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