People-Oriented Culture and its association with burnout, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems during COVID-19 pandemic among EMS providers in Korea.

Abstract

This study examined how perceived people-oriented culture (POC) was associated with burnout, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems during the COVID-19 pandemic among emergency medical service (EMS) providers in Korea. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 693 EMS providers in 2021. Overall, 60% reported burnout and around 25% had depressive symptoms. Prevalence of poor sleep quality, unrestful sleep, and sleep disturbance were 46.5%, 58.2%, and 52.2%, respectively. Compared to high POC group, higher prevalence of depressive symptoms was observed among medium (PR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.32) and low (PR: 2.70, 95% CI: 1.92, 3.79) POC group. Similar trends were observed in the analysis of burnout and sleep problems. Our findings underscore that low POC could play a critical role in worsening burnout, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems among EMS providers.