Acute and chronic job stressors among ambulance personnel: predictors of health symptoms
Open Access
- 1 June 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in Occupational and Environmental Medicine
- Vol. 60 (>90001), 40i-46
- https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.60.suppl_1.i40
Abstract
Objectives: To predict symptomatology (post-traumatic distress, fatigue, and burnout) due to acute and chronic work related stressors among ambulance personnel. Methods: Data were gathered from 123 ambulance workers in The Netherlands in a longitudinal design. At two measurements they completed standardised questionnaires to assess health symptoms, such as the Impact of Event Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Checklist Individual Strength. Acute stressors were assessed with specific questions, and chronic work related stressors were measured with the Questionnaire on the Experience and Assessment of Work. Results: Most of the ambulance workers had been confronted with acute stressors in their work. They also reported more chronic work related stressors than a reference group. Of the participants, more than a tenth suffered from a clinical level of post-traumatic distress, a tenth reported a fatigue level that put them at high risk for sick leave and work disability and nearly a tenth of the personnel suffered from burnout. Best predictors of symptomatology at time 2 were lack of social support at work and poor communication, such as not being informed about important decisions within the organisation. Conclusions: Ambulance personnel are at risk to develop health symptoms due to work related stressors. Although, acute stressors are related to health symptoms, such as fatigue, burnout, and post-traumatic symptoms, it was not found to predict health symptoms in the long term. Main risk factors have to do with social aspects of the work environment, in particular lack of support from the supervisor as well as colleagues and poor communication. When implementing workplace interventions these social aspects need to be taken into account.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Chronic and acute stressors among military personnel: Do coping styles buffer their negative impact on health?Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2001
- Ambulance personnel and critical incidentsThe British Journal of Psychiatry, 2001
- Measurement of prolonged fatigue in the working population: Determination of a cutoff point for the Checklist Individual Strength.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2000
- Exposure to duty‐related incident stressors in urban firefighters and paramedicsJournal of Traumatic Stress, 1998
- Stress responses of emergency services personnel to the loma prieta earthquake interstate 880 freeway collapse and control traumatic incidentsJournal of Traumatic Stress, 1996
- Dimensional assessment of chronic fatigue syndromeJournal of Psychosomatic Research, 1994
- Multiple Diagnoses in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Victims of a Natural DisasterThe Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1992
- Reactions of Police Officers to Body-Handling after a Major Disaster a Before-and-After ComparisonThe British Journal of Psychiatry, 1991
- A RESEARCH METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS OF DISASTERActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1989
- Brief psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorders.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1989