The impact of racism on emergency health care workers

Kaltiso, Sheri-Ann O; Seitz, Roslyn; Zdradzinski, Michael; Moran, Timothy P.; Heron, Sheryl; Robertson, Jennifer; Lall, Michelle D.

doi:10.1111/acem.14347

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Even in the absence of physical assault, verbal abuse can be distressing in its own right, especially if the abuse targets personal or cultural identities, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation. Previous research among healthcare workers has identified that harassment from patients on these grounds is both widespread and contributes to insomnia, depression, anxiety, burnout, attrition from healthcare, and suicide [19,20]-problems that have increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic [21][22][23][24]. Unfortunately, the problem of under-reporting [17] means that there is a lack of similar evidence on nonphysical violence against paramedics, creating a gap in research with potentially significant implications for the health and retention of the workforce.…”

Section: Non-physical Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic Violence against Paramedics in a Single Canadian Site

Mausz,

D’Eath,

Jackson

et al. 2024

IJERPH

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Violence against paramedics is widely recognized as a serious, but underreported, problem. While injurious physical attacks on paramedics are generally reported, non-physical violence is less likely to be documented. Verbal abuse can be very distressing, particularly if the harassment targets personal or cultural identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Leveraging a novel, point-of-event reporting process, our objective was to estimate the prevalence of harassment on identity grounds against paramedics in a single paramedic service in Ontario, Canada, and assess its potentially differential impact on emotional distress. In an analysis of 502 reports filed between 1 February 2021 and 28 February 2022, two paramedic supervisors independently coded the free-text narrative descriptions of violent encounters for themes suggestive of sexism, racism, and homophobia. We achieved high inter-rater agreement across the dimensions (k = 0.73–0.83), and after resolving discrepant cases, we found that one in four violent reports documented abuse on at least one of the identity grounds. In these cases, paramedics were 60% more likely to indicate being emotionally distressed than for other forms of violence. Our findings offer unique insight into the type of vitriol paramedics experience over the course of their work and its potential for psychological harm.

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Section: Non-physical Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic Violence against Paramedics in a Single Canadian Site

Mausz,

D’Eath,

Jackson

et al. 2024

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Even absent a physical assault, verbal abuse can be distressing in its own right, especially if the abuse targets personal or cultural identities, such as race, gender, or sexual orientation. Previous research among healthcare workers has identified that harassment from patients on these grounds contributes to insomnia, depression, anxiety, burnout, attrition from health care, and suicide [19,20] problems that have increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic [21][22][23][24]. There is, then, a compelling need to study and respond to all forms of violence against paramedics, particularly those that are the least likely to be documented or reported.…”

Section: Non-physical Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic Violence against Paramedics in a Single Canadian Site

Mausz,

D'Eath,

Jackson

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Violence against paramedics is widely recognized as a serious, but underreported, problem. While injurious physical attacks on paramedics are generally reported, non-physical violence is less likely to be documented. Verbal abuse can be very distressing, particularly if the harassment targets personal or cultural identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Leveraging a novel, point-of-event reporting process, our objective was to estimate the prevalence of harassment on identity grounds against paramedics in a single paramedic service in Ontario, Canada, and assess its potentially differential impact on emotional distress. In an analysis of 502 reports filed between February 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022, two paramedic-supervisors independently coded the free-text narrative descriptions of violent encounters for themes suggestive of sexism, racism, and homophobia. We achieved high interrater agreement across the dimensions (k=0.73-0.83), and after resolving discrepant cases, we found that 1 in 4 violent reports documented abuse on at least one of the identity grounds. In these cases, paramedics were 60% more likely to indicate being emotionally distressed than for other forms of violence. Our findings offer unique insight into the type of vitriol paramedics experience in the course of their work and its potential for psychological harm.

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“…These factors may have impacted the overall levels of stress felt by FHCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, one survey found that 30% of healthcare workers were at least moderately distressed by systemic racism in August-September 2020 [ 12 ]. To date, however, whether racism-related distress may be associated with mental health treatment utilization among FHCWs has not been evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of Mental Health Service Utilization among Frontline Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Starkweather

DePierro

Akhtar

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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(1) Background: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of factors associated with self-reported mental health service use in a longitudinal cohort of frontline health care workers (FHCWs) providing care to patients with COVID-19 throughout 2020. (2) Methods: The study comprised a two-wave survey (n = 780) administered in April–May 2020 (T1) and November 2020–January 2021 (T2) to faculty, staff, and trainees in a large urban medical center. Factors associated with initiation, cessation, or continuation of mental health care over time were examined. (3) Results: A total of 19.1% of FHCWs endorsed currently utilizing mental health services, with 11.4% continuing, 4.2% initiating, and 3.5% ceasing services between T1 and T2. Predisposing and need-related factors, most notably a history of a mental health diagnosis and distress related to systemic racism, predicted service initiation and continuation. Among FHCWs with a prior mental health history, those with greater perceived resilience were less likely to initiate treatment at T2. Descriptive data highlighted the importance of services around basic and safety needs (e.g., reliable access to personal protective equipment) relative to mental health support in the acute phase of the pandemic. (4) Conclusions: Results may be helpful in identifying FHCWs who may benefit from mental health services.

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The impact of racism on emergency health care workers

Cited by 11 publications

References 40 publications

Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic Violence against Paramedics in a Single Canadian Site

Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic Violence against Paramedics in a Single Canadian Site

Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic Violence against Paramedics in a Single Canadian Site

Predictors of Mental Health Service Utilization among Frontline Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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