Umeå University's logo

Background: Workplace-related serious injury events are a recognized problem in Europe, with construction sites bearing a higher risk compared to other workplaces. Sweden reports approximately 1,000 serious injury per year. Layperson involvement in workplace injury events can be stressful and may impact their ability to respond effectively. There is a knowledge gap concerning how workers in this context perceived their role.

Aim: To describe Swedish construction employees’ experiences of being involved as a layperson first aid provider in a serious workplace injury event.

Method: A total of nine construction employees were interviewed. Their ages ranged from 22 to 66 years, and varying experience in the construction industry, from 5 to 41 years. Eight had completed a first aid course at their workplace within the last three years. None of the participants had a background in areas such as rescue services, police, healthcare, or military. None of the construction sites had trained EMTs or company medical personnel on site. The transcribed text from the interviews was analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: The study showed that construction employees experiences of being involved as a layperson first aid provider was linked to one main category: to try to reduce the consequences of limited knowledge through mutual understanding and support. There were three additional categories for reported experiences: suddenly trying to save lives after realizing the unexpected, the importance of collaboration in a chaotic situation, and the need for social support and following improvements with subcategories.

Conclusion: The results showed that with injury events in a complex environment, such as construction sites, there is a need for mutual understanding between dispatcher, ambulance services, rescue service, and laypersons. A level of understanding from professional organizations is required to support the layperson to be a valuable resource to the emergency personnel in serious workplace injury events.

Political efforts in the Nordic countries aim to promote gender equality. However, an assumption is that patriarchal structures remain embedded in EMS organizations, often leading to a ‘glass ceiling’ effect for women. The Emergency Medical Services (EMS), generally positioned at the intersection of safety authorities and healthcare, operates within environments often shaped by masculine values and norms. Concurrently, the service also connects strongly to compassion, caring and nursing, which have been historically female-dominant professions and working environments. In recent decades, more females have entered the EMS. Despite the growing number of female paramedics, challenges persist, particularly in relation to gender inequality and workplace culture. Females in EMS field continue to face gender stereotypes, which may contribute to inequality. Gender stereotypes, combined with research describing sexual harassment and bias, underscore the need for further discussions and research on the impact of gender on paramedic work environments and career pathways for women working in the service.

Background: Although emergency call centre operators are not physically present at the scene of emergencies, they are still significantly impacted by these events. They are exposed to distressed individuals who express feelings of fear, desperation, and helplessness. Emergency call centre operators must endure this emotional exposure while simultaneously collecting crucial information from callers, relaying this information to responding units, and potentially instructing callers in critical first aid.

Motive: Limited research exists on the work environment and health conditions of emergency call centre operators. The motive of this study is to enhance understanding of the work environment and challenges faced by emergency call operators. The findings are relevant for employers and other professionals within the emergency care chain.

Aim: This study aims to describe the experiences of work-related psychosocial health among emergency call centre operators.

Methods: This study employed a qualitative approach, with data collected through 16 semi-structured interviews. The analysis was conducted using qualitative content analysis.

Result: The analysis revealed one main theme, four themes, and 12 subthemes. The main theme was “Having oneself as a stake,” built on the themes “Facing challenges,” “Being affected as a person,” “Feeling ignored by organisational conditions,” and “Drawing strength from rewarding conditions.”

Conclusion: The workplace environment of emergency call centre operators can have a negative impact on their psychosocial health. This can lead to decreased quality of emergency call responses and less accurate assessments of critical situations. Further research is needed to identify improvements in operational conditions for emergency call centre operators and establish goals for enhancing work-related health.

Organizational factors, stressors, and health among ambulance clinicians in Northern Sweden.

The increasing prevalence of threats and violence against ambulance clinicians is a critical issue that has not been adequately studied. These incidents pose significant challenges to the provision of prehospital emergency care, affecting both the safety and well-being of the clinicians involved. This study aimed to explore the experiences of Swedish ambulance clinicians when encountering threats and violence during their work. A qualitative approach was used, involving semi-structured interviews with 11 ambulance clinicians from various regions of Sweden. The participants were selected to ensure diversity in gender, age, and educational background. The data were collected over three weeks in 2021 and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis revealed three key categories related to the challenges faced by ambulance clinicians: Police cooperation challenges, Strategies for a safe care environment, and Impact during and relief after stressful events. These categories highlight the complexities of managing threats and violence in the field. This study sheds light on the multifaceted challenges that ambulance clinicians face due to threats and violence. It underscores the urgent need for comprehensive training, effective communication, and clear role allocation in complex situations. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of organized support systems to help clinicians cope with the aftermath of stressful events.

Background: The risk of high-energy trauma injuries on construction sites is relatively high. A delayed response time could affect outcomes after severe injury. This study assessed if an advanced first aid course for first aid response for laypersons (employees or apprentices) in the construction industry or real-time video communication and support with ambulance personnel, or neither, together with access to an advanced medical kit, would have an effect on immediate layperson vital responses in a severe injury scenario.

Method: This was a controlled simulation study. Employees or apprentices at a construction site were recruited and randomly allocated into a group with video support or not, and advanced first aid course or not, and where one group had both. The primary outcomes were correct behavior to recognize and manage an occluded airway and correct behavior to stop life-threatening bleeding from a lower extremity injury. Secondary outcomes included head-to-toe assessment performed, placement of a pelvic sling, and application of remote vital signs monitors.

Results: Ninety participants were included in 10 groups of 3 for each of 4 exposures. One group was tested first as a baseline group, and then later after having done the training course. Live video support was effective in controlling bleeding. A first aid course given beforehand did not seem to be as effective on controlling bleeding. Video support and the first aid course previously given improved the ability of bystanders to manage the airway, the combination of the two being no better than each of the interventions taken in isolation. Course exposure and video support together were not superior to the course by itself or video by itself, except regarding placing the biosensors on the injured after video support. Secondary results showed an association between video support and completing a head-to-toe assessment. Both interventions were associated with applying a pelvic sling.

Conclusion: These findings show that laypersons, here construction industry employees, can be supported to achieve good performance as first responders in a major injury scenario. Prior training, but especially live video support without prior training, improves layperson performance in this setting.

Background: Nurses working in prehospital emergency care (PEC) encounter patients with all types of health conditions. Increasingly, they are encountering patients suffering from mental illness and this trend reflects the worldwide increase in mental illness. There is very little current knowledge of encounters between nurses and patients with mental illness in ‘PEC’, especially from the nurses’ perspectives.

Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate nurses’ experiences of encountering patients with mental illness in ‘PEC’.

Methods: The participants were recruited in a region in southeast Sweden (that covers approximately 5600 km2 and has 300,000 inhabitants). In total, 17 nurses consented to participate. The participants were asked to narrate their individual experience of encountering patients with mental illness. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, then analysed with qualitative content analysis.

Results: The result is presented in terms of three themes and eight sub-themes. The main themes are ‘Lacking trust in the patient and one’s own abilities’, ‘Being under internal and external influences’ and ‘Moving towards a genuine nurse-patient relationship’.

Conclusion: The results show that nurses strive to lay the foundation for a trusting relationship. Simultaneously nurses encountering is characterized by a mistrust and it is influenced by pre-understanding and emotions when they take care for patients. The findings could be used to develop nurses’ readiness and capability to encounter patients with mental illness and to respond appropriately to the patients somatic and mental care needs.