Stress Levels of Ambulance Paramedics and Fire Fighters

Dutton, Laverne; Smolensky, Michael H.; Leach, C. S.; Lorimor, Ronald J.; Hsi, Bartholomew P.

doi:10.1097/00043764-197802000-00011

Cited by 49 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…There are many sources of psychological stress in the life of a firefIghter, in addition to the viscissitudes of daily life and career advancement (29,70,72). A firefIghter regularly steps into a situation that others flee, thus accepting a level of personal risk that would be unacceptable in most other occupations.…”

Section: Psychological Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational Health Concerns of Firefighting

Guidotti¹,

Clough²

1992

Annu. Rev. Public Health

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Section: Psychological Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…En route, hazardous traffic maneuvers and high noise levels from the sirens contribute to stress (94). Physiological and biochemical indicators of stress have also been assessed among firefighters (29).…”

Section: Psychological Hazardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Health Concerns of Firefighting

Guidotti¹,

Clough²

1992

Annu. Rev. Public Health

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“…Having to deal with life and death medical emergencies under potentially hazardous situations is psychologically demanding, as is repeated exposure to human tragedy, pressure to perform in uncertain situations, low pay, excessive paperwork, and lack of administrative support. These factors all contribute to a high incidence of burnout and job turnover (16). As paramedics keep careful time-based logs of their emergency calls, we were able to get precise information on the circumstances in which the ambulatory recordings were made, allowing us to ascertain to what degree AMBULATORY STRESS PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY specific work situations contribute to changes in BP during the day and how these changes may be related to characteristic behavioral dispositions of the subjects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambulatory stress psychophysiology: the study of “compensatory and defensive counterforces” and conflict in a natural setting.

Shapiro

Jamner

Goldstein

1993

Psychosomatic Medicine

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Thirty years ago, Donald Oken raised basic questions about psychophysiological research strategies for the study of the "psychological stress response" in the laboratory. Is it possible to simulate in the laboratory the situations one normally encounters? Do laboratory stimuli provoke affective arousal? Are different classes of stress stimuli associated with specific physiological response patterns? How do one's characteristic "defenses" and coping styles modulate one's responses? This paper describes a novel ambulatory research strategy in which the laboratory is moved into the natural setting. The advantages of this strategy are exemplified in studies of paramedics in whom 24-hour recordings were made of ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate. The ambulatory physiological data were then related to information about specific work location and subjective ratings of stress made in a diary at the time of each reading, objective assessments of the different stressful situations encountered, and the role of individual differences in anger expression and defensiveness in modulating these relationships. The findings illustrate the ability of real-life stressors to bring out relationships not typically obtained in the laboratory. Moreover, the natural setting permits individuals to respond to behavioral challenges using their preferred mode of coping with stress, as opposed to the constraints imposed on them in the laboratory. This research strategy has also helped uncover the significance of conflict about the expression of hostility, rather than hostility per se, as a key factor in the "stress response."

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“…Previous studies have indicated physical and psychological disturbances among ambulance paramedics [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . Specifically, it has been reported that exposure to stressful situations such as a victim's injury and/or death, and to unpredictable and dangerous situations causes mental disturbances among ambulance paramedics [6][7][8] .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a Modified Ambulance Night Shift System on Fatigue and Physiological Function among Ambulance Paramedics

Takeyama

Itani

Tachi

et al. 2009

Journal of Occupational Health

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In the present study, we modified a night shift system for an ambulance service so that ambulance paramedics were assured of taking a nap, and examined the effects of this new system on the fatigue and physiological function of ambulance paramedics. Methods: Ten ambulance paramedics at a fire station in the center of a large city in Japan voluntarily enrolled as subjects in this field study. They worked a 24-h shift system. There were two teams of 5 ambulance paramedics in the fire station. Three ambulance paramedics per shift usually provided the emergency services. In the traditional system, the ambulance paramedics had to deal with all emergency calls throughout a 24-h shift (T-shift). In the modified system, 2 ambulance paramedics were allotted time for naps in the 21:00-3:00 (C-shift) or 3:00-8:30 (Bshift) shift by the addition of another a firefighter (Dshift). Results: There were fewer emergency dispatches and nap time was longer in the B-and Cshifts than in the T-shift. Parasympathetic nerve activities during naps in B-and C-shifts were higher than in the T-shift. The results of critical flicker fusion frequency and 3-choice reaction time in the B-shift at 7:30 tended to be higher and shorter than that in Tshift. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the modified night shift which ensured time for ambulance paramedics to take long, restful power naps alleviated subjective fatigue, and improved physiological function which are often adversely affected by night workload. (J Occup Health 2009; 51: 204-209)

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Stress Levels of Ambulance Paramedics and Fire Fighters

Cited by 49 publications

References 4 publications

Occupational Health Concerns of Firefighting

Occupational Health Concerns of Firefighting

Ambulatory stress psychophysiology: the study of “compensatory and defensive counterforces” and conflict in a natural setting.

Effects of a Modified Ambulance Night Shift System on Fatigue and Physiological Function among Ambulance Paramedics

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