AGGRESSION TOWARDS PARAMEDICS IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS

Abstract

Aim: Aggressive behaviours at work are one of the many problems encountered by Emergency Response Team paramedics. Aggression towards them may inhibit proper conduct, intensify anxiety and disease symptoms. Problems stemming from occupational exposure to aggression are not well-recognised phenomena. The aim of the research was the evaluation of occupational exposure to aggression from patients among paramedics employed in Emergency Response Teams in the Mazovian voivodship. Material and methods: The study took place between May and September 2019 using diagnostic survey methodology among 238 (223 male and 15 female) paramedics in mobile emergency response teams in the Masovian voivodship. The mean age was 39,03±9,27 years for males, and 31,93±7,76 years for females. The research tool was a questionnaire, developed for the purpose of the present study. The significance level was α = 0.05. The statistical analysis was carried out with the STATISTICA ver 13.1 PL software. Results: 55.46% of the participants said that a patient’s aggressive conduct is a problem in everyday work. Participants come in frequent contact with verbal (62.61%) and physical (49.17%) aggression from patients. Conclusions: Aggressive behaviours towards paramedics employed in Emergency Response Teams is a significant problem not only in professional work, but also for public health. In order to minimise the incidence of aggression toward paramedics, cooperation between every party responsible for the proper functioning of the Emergency Medical Service System is necessary.