VIDEO: The everyday trauma experienced by first responders across the country and in Northeast Ohio continues to lead to growing levels of post-traumatic stress and the oftentimes life-altering side effects that come with it. In an effort to curb this trend, a coalition of researchers, experts and state officials developed a new science-based mobile app, making Ohio one of the first states with such an offering.
Called the F.I.R.S.T. Support app (First Incident Respondence Technology), the app was developed in partnership with Ohio State professor and researcher, Dr. Kenneth Yeager, and Accentus Health. Dr. Yeager leads the STAR Program (Stress, Trauma and Resilience) at OSU's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.
After an extensive beta period, the app has been released on Android and the Apple app stores. The app had a simple goal in mind: bring scalable and sustainable mental health support to high-stress, high-trauma professions like medicine and public safety.