Date

9-25-2025

Department

Helms School of Government

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration (PhD)

Chair

Joseph Wiegand

Keywords

First responders, injuries, line of duty, organizatonal support, public safety

Disciplines

Philosophy

Abstract

Public safety employees work in an environment characterized by a greater risk of injury than the workplaces of employees engaged in other professions. The deterioration of trust in public safety workers has increased both the violence against them and their risk of injury, negatively affecting their retention and recruitment efforts. The effect is exhausted and overworked employees who answer an increasing call volume with less resources, resulting in greater stress and frustration. Frustration can be expressed with negativity and isolation toward accommodated employees while they attempt to recover from their injuries. This phenomenon raises the question of “What treatment variations exist in public safety organizations toward employees that are injured in the line of duty?” The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe how injured public safety employees in Maricopa County characterized their lived experiences and treatment. The theory that guided this research was intersectionality, originally introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the ethnoracial, gender, and socioeconomic status of Black women in the United States. Semi-structured interviews were used to capture the perspective and lived experiences of public safety members from Maricopa County. The results revealed that workplace injuries are not properly addressed or equitably managed with a specific focus on leadership actions, policies, and workplace culture. This research contributes to the understanding of a problem facing injured public safety employees. This phenomenon is in direct conflict with what citizens believe happens when a heroic member of the protective community is injured in the line of duty.

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