Stamp Out Stigma: a national campaign to decrease stigma and increase behavioral health in fire service

ABSTRACT

Firefighters are at risk for behavioral health problems; however, mental health stigma is a barrier to seeking treatment. Although effective treatments exist, many firefighters report that internal stigma prohibits presentation for effective care. This study aimed to decrease stigma about behavioral health in fire service through the development and delivery of a peer-led anti-stigma intervention campaign called Stamp Out Stigma (SOS). SOS consisted of three related phases. During Phase 1 (n = 12), we produced testimonials and piloted the videos with firefighters to determine which were most compelling. During Phase 2 (n = 23), we beta-tested our training curriculum with two departments, resulting in a significant decrease in internalized stigma but not in self-stigma. During Phase 3 (n = 73), we presented the curriculum to two cohorts of firefighters. Participation in the SOS workshop was associated with a significant decrease in firefighters’ self-stigma from pre-, M = 22.7, SD = 6.3, to post-workshop, M = 20.8, SD = 5.5, t(66) = 3.2, p = 0.002. Participation in the SOS workshop was associated with a significant decrease in firefighters’ internalized stigma, M = 2.0, SD = 0.5, to post-workshop, M = 1.8, SD = 0.4, t(66) = 2.8, p = 0.007. The SOS approach to stigma reduction is promising for modifying negative attitudes toward mental health and treatment seeking among professional firefighters.

KEYWORDS:

• Firefighters
• stigma
• intervention
• psychology

Acknowledgements

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors alone and do not reflect the positions or policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States government, or any of the other institutions affiliated with the authors. The authors are indebted to the participants, project staff and clinicians, and the International Association of Fire Fighters for their support of this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency [EMW-2014-FP-00924].