TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceived support at work after critical incidents and its relation to psychological distress
T2 - A survey among prehospital providers
AU - Gouweloos-Trines, Juul
AU - Tyler, Mark P.
AU - Giummarra, Melita J.
AU - Kassam-Adams, Nancy
AU - Landolt, Markus A.
AU - Kleber, Rolf J.
AU - Alisic, Eva
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding EA: Early Career Fellowship (#1090229) from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. MJG: Early Career Fellowship (#1036124) from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. These funding sources had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Introduction Prehospital providers are at increased risk for psychological distress. Support at work after critical incidents is believed to be important for providers, but current guidelines are in need of more scientific evidence. This study aimed to investigate: (1) to what extent prehospital providers experience support at work; (2) whether support at work is directly associated with lower distress and (3) whether availability of a formal peer support system is related to lower distress via perceived colleague support. Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed prehospital providers from eight western industrialised countries between June and November 2014. A supportive work environment was operationalised as perceived management and colleague support (Job Content Questionnaire), availability of a formal peer support system and having enough time to recover after critical incidents. The outcome variable was psychological distress (Kessler 10). We conducted multiple linear regression analyses and mediation analysis. Results Of the 813 respondents, more than half (56.2%) were at moderate to high risk of psychological distress. Participants did not consistently report support at work (eg, 39.4% were not aware of formal peer support). Perceived management support (b (unstandardised regression coefficient)= '0.01, 95% CI '0.01 to 0.00), having enough time to recover after critical incidents (b= '0.07, 95% CI '0.09 to '0.04) and perceived colleague support (b= '0.01, 95% CI '0.01 to 0.00) were related to lower distress. Availability of formal peer support was indirectly related to lower distress via increased perceived colleague support (β= '0.04, 95% CI '0.02 to '0.01). Conclusions Prehospital providers at risk of psychological distress may benefit from support from colleagues and management and from having time to recover after critical incidents. Formal peer support may assist providers by increasing their sense of support from colleagues. These findings need to be verified in a longitudinal design.
AB - Introduction Prehospital providers are at increased risk for psychological distress. Support at work after critical incidents is believed to be important for providers, but current guidelines are in need of more scientific evidence. This study aimed to investigate: (1) to what extent prehospital providers experience support at work; (2) whether support at work is directly associated with lower distress and (3) whether availability of a formal peer support system is related to lower distress via perceived colleague support. Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed prehospital providers from eight western industrialised countries between June and November 2014. A supportive work environment was operationalised as perceived management and colleague support (Job Content Questionnaire), availability of a formal peer support system and having enough time to recover after critical incidents. The outcome variable was psychological distress (Kessler 10). We conducted multiple linear regression analyses and mediation analysis. Results Of the 813 respondents, more than half (56.2%) were at moderate to high risk of psychological distress. Participants did not consistently report support at work (eg, 39.4% were not aware of formal peer support). Perceived management support (b (unstandardised regression coefficient)= '0.01, 95% CI '0.01 to 0.00), having enough time to recover after critical incidents (b= '0.07, 95% CI '0.09 to '0.04) and perceived colleague support (b= '0.01, 95% CI '0.01 to 0.00) were related to lower distress. Availability of formal peer support was indirectly related to lower distress via increased perceived colleague support (β= '0.04, 95% CI '0.02 to '0.01). Conclusions Prehospital providers at risk of psychological distress may benefit from support from colleagues and management and from having time to recover after critical incidents. Formal peer support may assist providers by increasing their sense of support from colleagues. These findings need to be verified in a longitudinal design.
KW - paramedics
KW - prehospital care, basic ambulance care
KW - psychological conditions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85037694449&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/emermed-2017-206584
DO - 10.1136/emermed-2017-206584
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85037694449
SN - 1472-0205
VL - 34
SP - 816
EP - 822
JO - Emergency Medicine Journal
JF - Emergency Medicine Journal
IS - 12
ER -