BOS Research

Wayfound values our relationships with academic research partners to ensure that the interventions we provide are evidence-informed. In August 2021, results from our initial pilot project entitled “Evaluation of Before Operational Stress: A Program to Support Mental Health and Proactive Psychological Protection in Public Safety Personnel”, were published in the Frontiers in Psychology Journal. This research demonstrated that the BOS program yielded significant improvements in PTSD symptoms, quality of life, stigma, and perceived social support among 155 individuals. The BOS program content (i.e., functional disconnection and functional reconnection) and processes (i.e., psychoeducation within a supportive learning structure; mutually empowering group interactions) appear unique relative to other PSP resilience programs with promising initial results in support of PSP mental health. 

Wayfound continued to evaluate the BOS program in 2022, collecting data to compare both in-person and virtual delivery of the BOS program. Results from “Evaluating the Before Operational Stress Program: Comparing In-Person and Virtual Delivery”, were published in the Frontiers in Psychology Journal in July 2024. The results support virtual delivery of the BOS program (Classroom) as an accessible mental health training option for PSP, producing effects comparable to in-person delivery by clinicians. Currently, preliminary results from a recent study evaluating the asynchronous (BOS On-Demand) date shows similar findings.

To date, the BOS program has been deployed to over 74,000 trauma-exposed professionals across North America. Wayfound researchers and clinicians continue to integrate the latest research findings and evaluate program effectiveness to better serve trauma-exposed professionals that work tirelessly to serve our communities.