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Occupational injuries among emergency responders
Audrey A Reichard1, Larry L Jackson
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA. akr5@cdc.gov
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
|November 7, 2009
Summary
Emergency responders, including EMS, firefighters, and police, experience frequent injuries, primarily sprains and strains. Improved data collection is needed to better assess risks, especially for volunteer responders.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Emergency Medicine
- Public Safety
Background:
- Emergency responders face significant injury risks during their duties.
- Existing surveillance systems offer incomplete data on responder injuries due to exclusions and data limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize injury patterns in emergency medical services (EMS), firefighting, and police occupations.
- To identify high-risk groups and injury types within these emergency responder roles.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Occupational Supplement (NEISS-Work).
- Analyzed injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments from 2000-2001.
- Focused on EMS, firefighting, and police personnel.
Main Results:
- Sprains and strains constituted the majority of injuries (33-41%) across all studied occupations.
- Police officers and career firefighters exhibited the highest injury rates (8.5 and 7.4 per 100 FTE workers, respectively).
Conclusions:
- The physical demands inherent in emergency response contribute significantly to injury incidence.
- Interventions targeting physical demands may benefit multiple emergency responder occupations.
- Enhanced data acquisition, particularly for volunteers, is crucial for accurate risk assessment.
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