Abstract
BackgroundThe study objective was to investigate and synthesize available evidence relating to the psychological health of Emergency Dispatch Centre (EDC) operatives, and to identify key stressors experienced by EDC operatives.MethodsEight electronic databases (Embase, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, The Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Google Scholar) were searched. All study designs were included, and no date limits were set. Studies were included if they were published in English, and explored the psychological health of any EDC operatives, across fire, police, and emergency medical services. Studies were excluded if they related solely to other emergency workers, such as police officers or paramedics. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using checklists adapted from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. A narrative synthesis was conducted, using thematic analysis.ResultsA total of 16 articles were included in the review. Two overarching themes were identified during the narrative synthesis: ‘Organisational and Operational Factors’ and ‘Interactions with Others’. Stressors identified included being exposed to traumatic calls, lacking control over high workload, and working in under-resourced and pressured environments. Lack of support from management and providing an emotionally demanding service were additional sources of stress. Peer support and social support from friends and family were helpful in managing work-related stress.DiscussionEDC operatives experience stress as a result of their work, which appears to be related to negative psychological health outcomes. Future research should explore the long-term effects of this stress, and the potential for workplace interventions to alleviate the negative impacts on psychological health.PROSPERO Registration NumberCRD42014010806.
Highlights
Working in a healthcare environment can be stressful; healthcare staff face a range of situational, organisational and interpersonal stressors in their roles and a significant proportion of staff report feelings of emotional exhaustion and burnout (Tuvesson, Eklund & WannHansson, 2011; Gokcen et al, 2013; Andersson et al, 2016; Qiao et al, 2016)
1,401 articles were excluded, leaving 115 articles to be assessed through full-text reading. After sourcing these for full-text reading, 99 articles were excluded for the following reasons: sample did not include Emergency Dispatch Centre (EDC) operatives (n = 71), findings were not related to psychological health or stress (n = 18), documents retrieved were unpublished articles or theses (n = 10)
The findings from this review indicate that some EDC operatives do experience symptoms associated with negative psychological health and high levels of psychological stress, including increased alcohol use, disturbed sleep, and unwanted flashbacks related to calls
Summary
Working in a healthcare environment can be stressful; healthcare staff face a range of situational, organisational and interpersonal stressors in their roles and a significant proportion of staff report feelings of emotional exhaustion and burnout (Tuvesson, Eklund & WannHansson, 2011; Gokcen et al, 2013; Andersson et al, 2016; Qiao et al, 2016). With repeated exposure to challenging situations, can impact negatively on both the physical and psychological health of ambulance personnel, and may lead to burnout amongst some individuals (Halpern et al, 2012; Sofianopoulos, Williams & Archer, 2012; Fjeldheim et al, 2014). EDC operatives do not provide any hands-on first aid; instead, they triage the incident, which involves management of a unique set of challenges. Studies were included if they were published in English, and explored the psychological health of any EDC operatives, across fire, police, and emergency medical services. EDC operatives experience stress as a result of their work, which appears to be related to negative psychological health outcomes.
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