Resilience and Subjectively Experienced Stress Among Paramedics Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

IntroductionParamedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional support in situations of direct threat to patient health and life. They experience numerous difficulties during their work, which result in occupational stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work has become even more demanding. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of resilience in the subjective experience of stress among paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methodsThe study was carried out in two phases, in October-November 2019 (N = 75) and in May-June 2020 (N = 84), using the Sense of Stress Questionnaire (Skala Poczucia Stresu) and the Resilience Scale (Skala Pomiaru Prężności).ResultsParamedics exhibited higher intrapsychic stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tolerance of failure and treating life as a challenge were higher during the pandemic, in contrast to optimism and the ability to mobilize in difficult situations. Paramedics who were in contact with patients with COVID-19 experienced higher stress. Perseverance and determination, openness to new experiences and sense of humor, as well as competences and tolerance of negative emotions were revealed to play a key part in mitigating subjectively experienced stress.ConclusionParamedics’ subjectively experienced stress was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramedics who were in direct contact with patients with COVID-19 experienced higher stress. They had sufficient psychological resources, in the form of resilience (perseverance and determination, openness to new experiences, sense of humor, and competences and tolerance of negative emotions), which allowed them to cope with the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers to, and enablers of, paramedics responding to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases: An integrative review

“…Fear of infection to self and family was a recurring theme as most paramedics perceived the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 was higher for them than for the general population and the perceived threat increased when colleagues contracted SARS-CoV-2 infection [13] , [27] , [29] , [30] . Piotrowski et al [13] .…”

“…More than two years since the first detected case of COVID-19, on March 23rd, 2022, the WHO had reported 476,374,234 confirmed COVID-19 positive cases and 6,108,976 deaths globally [11] . The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global health care provision, increased pressure on health delivery models, and significantly impacted lives, including those of paramedics who perform essential frontline health care [12] , [13] , [14] .…”

Effectiveness of a Humor-Based Training for Reducing Employees’ Distress

“…Healthcare workers use humor for different purposes, such as to relieve tension in difficult situations that challenge their professional abilities, be more benevolent with their own and others’ mistakes, manage patients’ negative emotions and fear and provide a high-quality service, maintain composure in grotesque situations, foster supportive relationships among coworkers [ 54 , 55 , 56 ], and recently, cope with the stress caused by work overload during the COVID-19 pandemic and the distress caused by the high risk of becoming infected [ 57 , 58 ].…”

Post-Pandemic Stress Disorder as an Effect of the Epidemiological Situation Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Another cited study examined resilience and subjectively perceived stress among paramedics both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using tools, such as the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (KPS) and the Stress Measurement Scale (SPP-25) [ 58 ]. The KPS consists of 27 items assessing the level of the general sense of stress by considering its three dimensions in separate subscales.…”

“…Undoubtedly, experiencing stress daily in the work environment contributes to building psychological resilience. Therefore, having some kind of individual resilience resource by a professional group, such as paramedics, is extremely important to effectively cope with stress at work [ 58 ].…”