Assessing the Mental Stresses of EMS Work Through Data

Editor's Note: The original version of this article has been corrected to clarify the results of the study referenced, and to revise the credential of the article’s interview source.

 A career in EMS can be extremely stressful and negatively affect the mental health of EMTs and paramedics. The numbers tell the tale: According to the research paper “Death by Suicide–The EMS Profession Compared to the General Public,” the percentage of EMT deaths that were ruled a suicide among a group studied between the years of 2009 and 2015 was 5.2%, compared to 2.2% for non-EMTs.¹ (After controlling for gender, age and race, however, the difference was less significant).

The amount of work-related stress experienced by EMTs hasn’t fallen since 2015. In fact, thanks to COVID-19, it has probably become worse.

So just how severe has work-related EMS stress become during the pandemic? To find out, a team of medical researchers led by Douglas Bohl, PhD, an associate professor at Clarkson University and an AEMT with Potsdam Volunteer Rescue Squad in New York, has created a voluntary online survey titled "Mental Health Assessment of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Providers." Located here, this short survey is designed to measure EMS providers’ experiences with stress on the job. It is part of a larger study on EMS-related stress aimed at improving the long-term mental health of EMS professionals.

“The goals of our study are to examine levels of PTSD and depression in EMS providers, and specifically how COVID-19 is affecting them,” says Bohl. “This study has been designed by two active EMS providers who are committed to helping address mental health issues in EMS. Our larger goal is to provide information to the EMS community so that solutions to mental health issues can be addressed.”

The current online survey, which takes 10-15 minutes to complete, is the start of this research process. “We are asking for all EMS providers to take part; no matter where you are, if you have or have not been directly affected by COVID, and if you do or do not have mental health issues,” Bohl says. “We need everyone's participation so that we can get an accurate picture of the scope of the problem in EMS.”

To alleviate the fears of potential participants, Bohl is upfront about the survey’s main elements. “First, we want to know a little about each EMS provider: where you practice, are you paid or a volunteer, and what medical level are you operating at,” he says. Next, the survey asks participants how COVID-19 has affected them (or not), followed by questions related to PTSD and depression.

“The providers’ answers will let us compare results based on who they are and what they do,” says Bohl. “For example, we will be able to compare the responses of volunteers and paid providers. Meanwhile, the COVID-related answers will provide a snapshot of how the pandemic is affecting EMS. The PTSD and depression responses will allow us to assess how many and how badly our people are affected by those issues.”

Bohl hopes to use the initial survey’s data to determine the overall prevalence of PTSD and depression in EMS providers, as well as the impact COVID-19 may have had on these issues. “Then we want to look at the data by region, provider type and age to see how those factors affect mental health,” he says. “We are also going to break down the data based on who has or has not been affected by COVID-19 personally, to see if there are any differences there.”

After this work is completed, other members of the research team will contact people who volunteered for interviews during the initial survey for in-person consultations. “Interviewing people face-to-face will allow us to better understand the perspective of EMS providers,” says Bohl. “Once we have finished this phase, we will report what we have found on EMS-related websites, journals and at conferences. In about a year, we will do a second study with another online survey and in-person interviews so that we can see if these trends are changing.”

“Our larger goals are to spread awareness on how the EMS community is affected by mental health issues in general, and how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted the mental health of EMS workers,” Bohl told EMS World. “This information is really important so that strategies and funding can be developed to address mental health issues in EMS work both nationally and locally.”

This survey can be found online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V6SFXRJ.

References

1. Vigil NH, Grant AR, et al. Death by suicide – The EMS profession compared to the general public. Prehosp Emerg Care, 2019 Sep; 23(3): 340-345.

James Careless is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to EMS World.