How do paramedics and student paramedics cope? A cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Paramedicine
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Paramedicine involves inherent wellbeing threats.
• Coping mechanisms of paramedics are not well understood.
• Existing research on paramedic wellbeing is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore healthy and unhealthy coping strategies in paramedics and student paramedics.
• To assess the relationship between wellbeing and coping strategies.
• To identify the utilization of professional support among paramedics.

Main Methods:

• Online survey administered to 198 paramedics and student paramedics.
• Wellbeing assessed using the WHO-5 questionnaire.
• Coping strategies measured using the Coping Index.

Main Results:

• 68% of participants reported positive wellbeing; student paramedics showed significantly better wellbeing than experienced paramedics.
• No significant differences in healthy or unhealthy coping were found between paramedics and student paramedics.
• Participants with lower wellbeing utilized fewer healthy and more unhealthy coping strategies, with only 28% accessing professional support.

Conclusions:

• Paramedic work impacts wellbeing, but paramedics are not at higher risk for unhealthy coping than students.
• A significant portion of paramedics experiencing ill-being employ unhealthy coping mechanisms.
• Increased utilization of professional support is crucial for preventing adverse coping strategies, including suicidality, in the paramedic profession.