TDNet Discover

Background: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel are known to have worse mental health and well-being when compared to the general population. Previous research has shown that during the COVID-19 pandemic, EMS personnel had poor mental health and well-being, but no research has been conducted on the state of EMS post-COVID-19. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to evaluate post-COVID-19 pandemic mental health and well-being in EMS personnel. Methods: A cross sectional survey using convenience and snowballing sampling was conducted among active EMS personnel in the month of June 2023. The survey included the PHQ-9 depression scale, GAD-7 anxiety scale, and WHO-5 well-being scale. Intellectus was used to analyze responses. Results: There were 51 responses from active EMS personnel. The most frequently observed category of PHQ-9 category was Mild Depression (n = 23, 45.10%). The most frequently observed category of GAD-7 category was Minimal Anxiety (n = 20, 39.22%). The most frequently observed category of WHO-5 category was Good (n = 16, 31.37%). There was a rate of 19.6% for thoughts of self-harm or suicidality of at least some days. Conclusion: This research showed the rates of depression and anxiety are still elevated postCOVID-19 in EMS personnel with mild depression having the highest frequency among respondents. Further research should be conducted to assess the state of mental health and well-being among EMS personnel post-COVID-19 on a larger scale. EMS agencies should find ways to address poor mental health and well-being among their employees.