Brianna earned the 2024/2025 William Shaver Masters Scholarship

Thesis Title: “Ontario Mine Rescue Personnels’ Experience with Critical Incident Exposure: Perceptions of Current Post-Incident Supports”

Brianna is doing her Masters of Social Work. The mining industry is considered a high health risk occupation that adopts a variety of safety practices to mitigate hazards and risks in the workplace. While occupational health and safety performance has a variance between economic sectors within countries, statistical data indicates mining as one of the occupations with the highest work-related deaths worldwide. In Canada, data between 2012 and 2021, the most recent year for which the data is available, shows a fatality decline of 23%.

Despite these advancements in physical safety, critical incident supports for mine rescue personnel remains an underexplored area. Brianna’s research investigates Ontario Mine Rescue (OMR) personnels’ perspectives and experiences of critical incident (CI) supports and services to gain insight into their respective effectiveness and accessibility. This research will also identify opportunities for organizational improvements to better support these emergency personnel.

Currently, the support mechanisms that are in place for OMR team members include mandatory debriefing after incidents and Critical Incident Stress Management Training for the Ontario Mine Rescue Officers. However, primary responsibility for CI support for the volunteers falls on the individual mining companies. Her research will provide insight into how mine rescue personnel experience current CI resources and will inform potential organizational supports and policies pertaining to CI exposure. Strengthening these support systems will ultimately contribute to a holistically healthier workforce in Ontario’s mine rescue sector.