Abstract
Chaplains are employed by ambulance services in many states across Australia as one element in a suite of initiatives to support the health and wellness of paramedics. The aim of this paper is to present key findings from a study that explored paramedic perspectives on the role and value of chaplains in the ambulance service. Seventeen paramedics participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using framework analysis. Two themes were identified: scope of the chaplain’s role and organisational factors influencing the chaplain’s role. Paramedics highly valued what they believed to be proactive and reactive support provided by ambulance chaplains, regardless of paramedics’ personal spiritual or religious beliefs.
Highlights
Chaplains have long been established in ambulance services around the globe as one aspect of staff health and wellbeing programs
Ambulance chaplains work independently and collaboratively in staff support teams that may include psychologists, fitness support and peer support officers among others (Ambulance Victoria, 2016; NSW Ambulance Service, n.d.; Queensland Ambulance Service, 2018; St John Northern Territory, 2020). These teams have been implemented by the majority of Australian ambulance services in response to emerging evidence indicating less than optimal psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual health among paramedics caused by the nature of the work and organisational culture, contributing to paramedics experiencing higher rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation than the average population (Beyond Blue Ltd, 2018; Davis et al, 2019; Lawn et al, 2020; Senate Education Employment References Committee, 2019)
Data analysis identified that paramedics valued what they perceived to be proactive and reactive support provided by ambulance chaplains, regardless of their personal spiritual beliefs
Summary
Chaplains have long been established in ambulance services around the globe as one aspect of staff health and wellbeing programs. Ambulance chaplains work independently and collaboratively in staff support teams that may include psychologists, fitness support and peer support officers among others (Ambulance Victoria, 2016; NSW Ambulance Service, n.d.; Queensland Ambulance Service, 2018; St John Northern Territory, 2020) These teams have been implemented by the majority of Australian ambulance services in response to emerging evidence indicating less than optimal psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual health among paramedics caused by the nature of the work and organisational culture, contributing to paramedics experiencing higher rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation than the average population (Beyond Blue Ltd, 2018; Davis et al, 2019; Lawn et al, 2020; Senate Education Employment References Committee, 2019). These holistic support programs aim to provide a positive response for supporting the needs of staff; a dearth of research evaluating their effectiveness is evident (McCreary, 2019)
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