The prevalence of invisible disabilities, including mental health diagnoses, necessitates a disability justice approach in firefighter mental health care. This study uses a cross-sectional survey to assess depression, anxiety, and PTSD while analyzing barriers to care, specifically stigma-related challenges that hinder access to mental health support and interventions.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:
1. Describe the type and prevalence of depression, anxiety, and PTSD in a sample of firefighters (n= 476) compared to the general public.
2. Identify treatment barriers to mental health care for firefighters using the BACE Scale, with emphasis on stigma-related challenges.
3. Apply a disability justice framework to analyze how barriers to treatment for “invisible disabilities” aligns with disability justice principles.
