Emergency first responders (EFRs) such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics and logistics personnel often suffer high turnover due to work-related stress, high workloads, fatigue, and declining professional wellbeing. As attempts to counter this through resilience programmes tend to have limited success, there is a need for further research into how organisational policies could change to improve EFRs' professional wellbeing.
Aim: To identify the factors that may contribute to or affect EFRs' professional wellbeing.
Methods: A systematic literature review has been carried out. Three databases (Science Direct, ProQuest, and PubMed) were searched using keywords developed based on the PICo (population, interest, and context) framework. A total of 984 articles were extracted. These were then critically appraised for the quality of the evidence presented, leading to a total of five being ultimately included for review.
Results: Thematic analysis revealed that although EFRs may be exposed daily to traumatic events, factors that contribute to a decline in professional wellbeing emerge from within the organisational environment, rather than from the event itself.
Conclusion: The study concludes that organisational and team relations factors significantly impact EFRs ability to cope with stress. As such, organisational policy should evolve to emphasise team relations over resilience programmes.
Keywords: emergency first responders; leadership; organisational culture; professional wellbeing; rescue worker; team building; welfare.