Attitudes and stressors related to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic among emergency medical services workers in Germany: a cross-sectional study

BMC Health Services Research

Frank Flake¹  Reinhard Pietrowsky²  Annegret Dreher³  Adrian Loerbroks³ 

[1] German Association of Emergency Medical Service, Luebeck, Germany;Institute of Experimental Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany;Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany;

关键词: Emergency medical services workers;    COVID-19;    Cross-sectional study;    Epidemiology;    Occupational health;    Psychological stress;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-021-06779-5

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe aim was to investigate attitudes and stressors related to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak among emergency medical services (EMS) workers in Germany. We further aimed to detect possible changes within a 5-week period and potential determinants of attitudes and stressors.MethodsWe conducted two cross-sectional studies using an online questionnaire in early April 2020 (i.e., the first peak of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Germany) and five weeks later. The study instrument comprised sociodemographic items, self-devised items on pandemic-related attitudes, stressors and work outcomes, and established instruments assessing depressive symptoms and symptoms of anxiety. Logistic regression was performed to identify possible determinants.ResultsData of 1537 participants was included in the analysis (April: n = 1124, May: n = 413, 83.1% male, median age 32). Most participants agreed that their personal risk of infection was higher compared to the general population (April: 87.0% agreement, May: 78.9%). The greatest stressor was uncertainty about the pandemic’s temporal scope (82.0 and 80.9%, respectively). Most participants (69.9, 79.7%) felt sufficiently prepared for the pandemic and only few felt burdened by their financial situation (18.8, 13.3%). Agreement to all stressors decreased from April to May except related to the childcare situation. Regression analysis identified subgroups to be burdened more frequently such as older employees, those with SARS-CoV-2 cases among their colleagues, and those with lower paramedic training levels.ConclusionsWe identified key SARS-CoV-2-related stressors whose levels generally decreased within a 5-week period. Our results indicate that EMS workers are less affected by existential fears and rather worry about their personal infection risk.

【 授权许可】

CC BY