A retrospective survey study of paramedic students’ exposure to SARS-CoV-2, participation in the COVID-19 pandemic response, and health-related quality of life

Häikiö, Kristin; Andersen, Jeanette; Bakkerud, Morten; Christiansen, Carl R; Rand‐Hendriksen, Kim; Staff, Trine

doi:10.1186/s13049-021-00967-2

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…The variables of interest for this paper differ from those reported earlier, except for HRQoL. HRQoL was reported from DC1 in a previous paper (10).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The clinical placements were mainly undertaken in the pandemic's Norwegian epicentre, in the Oslo University Hospital ambulance department (OUH). Further information is available in our previous paper (10).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variables of interest were chosen before the rst data collection (10), based on previous research on the effect of the COVID-19 on healthcare workers, such as level of anxiety, depression, and distress (8).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there are many studies of students' responses to COVID-19 (10), few have been conducted on paramedic students (10,11). In a previous paper, it is reported that despite a lack of personal protection equipment in the early pandemic phase, Norwegian paramedic students participated in the national COVID-19 response both through clinical and administrative work (10). Surprisingly, the students reported higher levels of HRQoL than the general Norwegian population in the same age groups (10).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous paper, it is reported that despite a lack of personal protection equipment in the early pandemic phase, Norwegian paramedic students participated in the national COVID-19 response both through clinical and administrative work (10). Surprisingly, the students reported higher levels of HRQoL than the general Norwegian population in the same age groups (10). Although some recent studies have described resilience among paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic (11), increased levels of stress, anxiety, and emotional labour for paramedics during the pandemic have also been reported (12,13).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduced quality of life, more technical challenges, and less study motivation among paramedic students after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic – a survey study

Häikiö¹,

Harring²,

Kveen³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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IntroductionDespite the lack of knowledge about the SARS-CoV2 virus, the lack of personal protection gear among frontline healthcare workers, and lack of vaccines in the beginning of the pandemic, paramedic students in Norway contributed to the National response against the COVID-19 pandemic by working in test-stations, ambulance services, ambulance decontamination stations etc. Despite fear of contracting the COVID-19 reported by healthcare workers worldwide, paramedic students in Norway reported higher-than-average quality of life after four months of the COVID-19 pandemic (first pandemic wave). In this study we aimed to investigate how students reported their quality of life, study motivation and job satisfaction after one year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodAt each data collection point, all paramedic students enrolled at Oslo Metropolitan University were invited to participate in a digital, online, self-administered survey. The first data collection was in June 2020 (the first pandemic wave), while the second data collection was in March 2021 (the third pandemic wave). Results from both samples were analyzed independently with descriptive statistics. Differences between the groups were analyzed using an independent T-test and Mann-Whitney-U test. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to estimate the difference attributable to timing (first vs. the third wave), seniority, and student gender. ResultsThe samples consist of slightly more female students than male students. The mean age in both samples is 24.6 years. Despite the higher-than-average level of quality of life in the first pandemic wave, results show that there was a significant reduction in students’ health-related quality of life (p<0.001, B -0.059, SE 0.016), study motivation (p=0.002, CI:0.09,0.41), and job satisfaction (p=0.005, 95% CI:1.62, 9.00) after the third pandemic wave in Norway. Surprisingly, students experienced more technical challenges in the third wave, e.g., poor internet connection, sound pollution, and poor picture quality, despite more experience among students and teachers.ConclusionOur results show that paramedic students had significant worsening experiences in the late pandemic wave compared to the first pandemic wave. Universities and governments should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic to develop better preparedness plans for future pandemics and knowledge about students' well-being should be considered in future preparedness plans for higher education and the government plans for the education of front-line healthcare workers during a pandemic to facilitate the continuation of necessary education.Keywords: Pandemic, COVID-19, Emergency medical technicians, Paramedic, Quality of life, Allied Health Personnel, student, online education, motivation

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“…The variables of interest for this paper differ from those reported earlier, except for HRQoL. HRQoL was reported from DC1 in a previous paper (10).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%