DFES Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Action Plan Survey for Emergency Services Volunteers

Your mental health and wellbeing matters!

To help promote positive mental health outcomes, DFES is developing a Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2023.

The intention of this Strategy and Action Plan is to support all DFES employees and emergency services volunteers from recruitment through to retirement, and will focus on:

Prevention – activities that help reduce risk and minimise harm in relation to mental health
Mitigation – activities that help support you through your recovery journey if you are impacted by poor mental health
Promoting Thriving – activities that help optimise your wellbeing, allowing you to do more than just ‘survive’

Your input will help us to get it right.

Please answer the following 10 questions. This should only take 5 minutes.

Your participation is voluntary. All responses are confidential.

Images sourced from: Black Dog Institute

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* 1. Which region are you from?

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* 2. What service do you belong to?

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* 3. Which age bracket are you in?

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* 4. What key barriers do you think are preventing DFES employees and emergency services volunteers from accessing the mental health support services DFES provides? (tick all that apply)

Stigmatising beliefs (e.g. negative stereotypes associated with mental health)

Perceiving problem as not serious enough

Over-reliance on self (“I will get through this”)

Fear of a negative outcome

Difficulty identifying or expressing concerns

Feeling embarrassed or ashamed

Difficulty accessing help

Not knowing what services are available

Limited number of services available

Current services perceived as not effective

Other (please describe) / or Additional Comments:

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* 5. Thinking about current DFES mental health and wellbeing activities: How effective are the activities listed below?

	Don't know	Not effective	Somewhat effective	Very effective
Employee Assistance Program (EAP, free confidential counselling service)	Employee Assistance Program (EAP, free confidential counselling service) Don't know	Employee Assistance Program (EAP, free confidential counselling service) Not effective	Employee Assistance Program (EAP, free confidential counselling service) Somewhat effective	Employee Assistance Program (EAP, free confidential counselling service) Very effective
Peer Support Program	Peer Support Program Don't know	Peer Support Program Not effective	Peer Support Program Somewhat effective	Peer Support Program Very effective
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training	Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training Don't know	Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training Not effective	Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training Somewhat effective	Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training Very effective
Headspace Mindfulness App	Headspace Mindfulness App Don't know	Headspace Mindfulness App Not effective	Headspace Mindfulness App Somewhat effective	Headspace Mindfulness App Very effective
Information on Staff Intranet and/or Volunteer Hub	Information on Staff Intranet and/or Volunteer Hub Don't know	Information on Staff Intranet and/or Volunteer Hub Not effective	Information on Staff Intranet and/or Volunteer Hub Somewhat effective	Information on Staff Intranet and/or Volunteer Hub Very effective
Campaign events (e.g. RUOK? Day, Movember)	Campaign events (e.g. RUOK? Day, Movember) Don't know	Campaign events (e.g. RUOK? Day, Movember) Not effective	Campaign events (e.g. RUOK? Day, Movember) Somewhat effective	Campaign events (e.g. RUOK? Day, Movember) Very effective
Wellness support following a critical incident/call out	Wellness support following a critical incident/call out Don't know	Wellness support following a critical incident/call out Not effective	Wellness support following a critical incident/call out Somewhat effective	Wellness support following a critical incident/call out Very effective
Injury management and return to work processes	Injury management and return to work processes Don't know	Injury management and return to work processes Not effective	Injury management and return to work processes Somewhat effective	Injury management and return to work processes Very effective
DFES Wellness Chaplain	DFES Wellness Chaplain Don't know	DFES Wellness Chaplain Not effective	DFES Wellness Chaplain Somewhat effective	DFES Wellness Chaplain Very effective

Other (please specify) and include Ranking

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* 6. What additional mental health and wellbeing activities do you think DFES could offer?

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* 7. What is the most effective way for you to receive mental health and wellbeing training/education? (tick all that apply)

Face to face

Online (e.g. Webinar, MS Teams)

Written materials delivered to you

Other (please specify)

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* 8. How would you prefer mental health and wellbeing training/education to be delivered? (tick all that apply)

Standalone courses (e.g. Mental Health First Aid training)

Information included as part of current training courses (e.g. road crash rescue course, search team leader course)

Training night topic

A self-paced learning App/Platform

Other (please specify)

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* 9. What do you think are the most effective ways of promoting DFES mental health and wellbeing activities and support services? (tick all that apply)

Information included as part of your Induction

Staff Intranet and/or Volunteer Hub

External facing Website

Promotional material (e.g. brochures, posters) at the office/station/brigade/group/unit

Peer Support Officers

Contacting the relevant DFES team directly (e.g. Wellness team, Health and Safety Services team, Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management team)

Contacting your supervisor directly (e.g. Manager, AO, DO, CESM)

Training

Visits by relevant DFES branches (e.g. Wellness team)

Through the Volunteer Associations

Other (please specify)

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* 10. Additional comments

If you would prefer to give additional feedback/comments in person, please email mentalhealthstrategy@dfes.wa.gov.au to request a call back. Please include in your email your full name, preferred call back day and time, and a contact number.

Alternatively, contact Charlotte Hunter on 9395 9874.

Thank you in advance
Charlotte Hunter