Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Emergency Responders Scoping Study: Annotated Bibliography (original) (raw)
Related papers
Post-traumatic stress among Swedish ambulance personnel
Emergency Medicine Journal, 2003
Emergency workers, including ambulance personnel, must cope with a variety of duty related stressors including traumatic incident exposures. Little is known about the variables that might be associated with post-traumatic stress symptom in high risk occupational groups such as ambulance personnel. This study investigated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among Swedish ambulance personnel. To estimate the prevalence of trauma related disorders, a representative group of 362 ambulance personal from the county of Västra Götaland in Sweden was surveyed through use of a Swedish version of Antonovsky's 13-item short version of Sense of Coherence Scale, to measure reactions to traumatic events two instruments were used, Impact of Event Scale (IES-15) and the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS-10). A total of 223 of the ambulance personnel reported that they had had experience of what they described as traumatic situations. Of those who reported a traumatic situation 15.2% scored 31 or more on the IES-15 sub scale. Scores over 31 indicate a stress reaction with certain likelihood of post-traumatic disorder. On the PTSS-10 subscale 12.1% scored 5 or more, which indicates a relative strong reaction. The study indicates that lower sense of coherence predicts post-traumatic stress. Other predictors for the extent of traumatic stress were longer job experience, age, physical and psychological workload. The high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in ambulance personnel indicates an inability to cope with stress in daily work. The strong relation between post-traumatic stress and Sense of Coherence Scale may be useful in predicting vulnerability for post-traumatic symptoms among recently employed ambulance service personnel. To prevent or reduce the upcoming of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms it must be possible to take leave of absence, or for a longer or shorter time be transferred to non-emergency duties. This study presents a better understanding between post-traumatic stress and underlying factors among ambulance personnel.
Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2018
There is increasing concern regarding the mental health impact of first responder work, with some reports suggesting ambulance personnel may be at particularly high risk. Through this systematic review and meta-analysis we aimed to determine the prevalence of mental health conditions among ambulance personnel worldwide. A systematic search and screening process was conducted to identify studies for inclusion in the review. To be eligible, studies had to report original quantitative data on the prevalence of at least one of the following mental health outcome(s) of interest (PTSD, depression, anxiety, general psychological distress) for ambulance personnel samples. Quality of the studies was assessed using a validated methodological rating tool. Random effects modelling was used to estimate pooled prevalence, as well as subgroup analyses and meta-regressions for five variables implicated in heterogeneity. In total, 941 articles were identified across all sources, with 95 full-text ar...
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, 2022
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been shown to be elevated among first responders (Emergency Medical Services, fire service, police force) compared to the general population. Examining the prevalence of mental health issues in a work force with an elevated occupational risk is fundamental towards ensuring their wellbeing and implementing safeguard measures. The goal of this study is therefore to report the prevalence of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic development, and PTSD in Norwegian ambulance personnel. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional, anonymous, web-based survey (Questback ®), performed among operative personnel employed in the Emergency Medical Services in the Regional Health Trust of Central Norway between 18. February and 9. April 2021. The study was sent to 1052 eligible participants. Questions reported demographic data, a traumatic events exposure index, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Depression), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, Posttraumatic symptom scale (PTSD) and Posttraumatic change scale. Results: The response rate in this study was 45.5% (n = 479/1052). The mean age of respondents was 37.1 years (std. 11.1) and 52.8% (n = 253) were male. Of the respondents, 80.6% (n = 386) were married or had a partner, and 91.6% (n = 439) reported having access to a peer support programme, with 34.9% (n = 167) reporting that they had utilized peer support. In this study, 5% (n = 24) showed a prevalence of manifest posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, while 8.6% (n = 41) reported moderate to severe depression and 2.9% (n = 14) presented moderate to severe symptoms of general anxiety. Of the respondents, 77.2% (n = 370) reported personal growth because of their work experiences. Conclusions: This study indicates that Norwegian ambulance personnel report a prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms and depression, which is slightly higher for men, and lower for the female proportion in this study, when compared to an adult Norwegian population. The vast majority of respondents reported personal growth because of their work experience, and both the degree of peer support and having a partner seem to influence levels of posttraumatic stress and-development.
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2020
This research review synthesized the evidence on the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder among emergency department personnel in Canada and the USA. No previous such synthesis, specific to this crucial aspect of North American health care had previously been published. Broad keyword searches of interdisciplinary research databases, both peer-reviewed and grey, retrieved 10 surveys published between 1996 and 2019. Their outcomes were synthesized with sample-weighted, pooled analyses. The most significant review finding was that one of every five such emergency care personnel met posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic criteria; 18.6% (95% confidence interval 16.9, 20.4). However, this synthesis of generally small, nonprobability surveys with high nonparticipation rates, could only suggest that the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder is perhaps nearly two-fold greater among emergency department nurses (25.8%) than physicians (15.6%). Additionally, it seems that gender...
BMC Emergency Medicine
Background: Emergency medical service (EMS) personnel who work to provide emergency medical care at the scene and during transportation are exposed to various kinds of stressors and are particularly susceptible to developing stress-reactions. This study assesses symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and its predictors among the personnel of a selected EMS in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: Data were gathered from 518 personnel working in an EMS setting from February to May 2014. Participants were screened for post-traumatic stress symptoms using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Demographic and work-related characteristics, coping styles and the social support systems of the participants were assessed. Linear regression was used on the IES-R to identify predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Post-traumatic stress disorder among paramedic and hospital emergency personnel in south-east Iran
World journal of emergency medicine, 2013
Paramedic and emergency personnel may encounter directly many events that threat their own wellbeing during their daily work. This study was conducted to examine the prevalence rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among two groups of paramedic and emergency personnel in south-east Iran. The study employed a descriptive design and was conducted in four hospital emergency wards and a pre-hospital emergency base supervised by Kerman Medical University. Using Mississippi PTSD, we assessed the prevalence rate in paramedics (n=150) and emergency personnel (n=250). The two groups had different levels of education, marital status, experience of traumatic events, work hours per month, and gender. Most (94%) of paramedic and hospital emergency personnel reported moderate PTSD. The two groups had significant different levels of PTSD in all subscale. The study suggests that health care managers should organize systematic and dynamic policies and procedures in dealing with PTSD to assis...
PTSD, Acute Stress, Performance and Decision-Making in Emergency Service Workers
2017
Despite research identifying high levels of stress and traumatic stress symptoms among those in the emergency services, the impact of these symptoms on performance and hence public safety remains uncertain. This review paper discusses a program of research that has examined the effects of prior critical incident exposure, acute stress, and current post-traumatic symptoms on the performance and decision-making during an acutely stressful event among police officers, police communicators, paramedics and child protection workers. Four studies, using simulation methods involving video simulators, human-patient simulators, and/or standardized patients, examined the performance of emergency workers in typical workplace situations related to their individual profession. Results varied according to level of acuity of stress and the nature of performance and decision-making. There was no evidence that PTSD had a direct impact on global performance on tasks for which emergency responders are ...
BMC Emergency Medicine, 2014
Background Emergency healthcare workers, including trainees and individuals in related occupations are at heightened risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression owing to work-related stressors. We aimed to investigate the type, frequency, and severity of direct trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms and other psychopathology amongst paramedic trainees. In order to create a risk profile for individuals who are at higher occupational risk of developing PTSD, we examined risk and resilience factors that possibly contributed to the presence and severity of posttraumatic symptomatology. Methods Paramedic trainees (n = 131) were recruited from a local university. A logistic regression analysis was conducted using the explanatory variables age, gender, population group, trauma exposure, depression, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, resilience and social support. Results 94% of paramedic trainees had directly experienced trauma, with 16% meeting PTSD crit...