Health and Productivity of Commuter Railroad Employees Involved in Critical Incidents

https://doi.org/10.21949/15035572011PDFTech ReportFTA Report No. 0019CO- 26-7010-006EmployeesRailroad commuter serviceRail transitMental disordersPosttraumatic stress disorderDepression (Mental condition)Labor productivityResearch reportsSafetyCritical incident, Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, Rail employees, Sleep disturbance, Depression, Absenteeism, PCL-C, MDD, CES-D15United StatesUnited States. Federal Transit Administration. Office of Research, Demonstration, and InnovationSherry, PatrickNational Center for Intermodal Transportation for Economic CompetitivenessUnited States. Federal Transit Administration. Office of Research, Demonstration, and InnovationFederal Transit AdministrationThe effects of accidents\u2014termed Critical Incidents\u2014on the health and productivity of rail transit workers have not been fully investigated. Anecdotal evidence suggests lasting effects of these incidents. Surveys were obtained from 363 commuter railroad operating employees from 3 different U.S. locations regarding their involvement in Critical Incidents (CIs) such as grade crossing accidents, striking trespassers, and others, achieving a 78.6% response rate among urban workers. The survey assessed general psychological state, health, and perceived work productivity. Nearly half of all rail transit operators (43.6%) reported involvement in a CI during their careers and, of those, nearly half (48%) reported involvement in more than one incident. A total of 12.1% of those in CIs scored in the clinical range on a standard measure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The odds of scoring in the clinical range on the PTSD measures were approximately 6 to 1 for those involved in a CI. Persons involved in CIs reported significantly higher levels of intrusive thoughts, heightened emotional arousal, and sleep disturbances. Persons involved in CIs subsequently reported more physical health difficulties and were twice as likely to report depression and miss significantly more work days (2.96) than those not involved in CIs (1.5).85