Violence against emergency medical services personnel: A systematic review of the literature

Background Violence against emergency medical services (EMS) personnel is a growing concern. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the current literature on violence against EMS personnel. Methods We examined literature from 2000 to 2016. Eligibility criteria included English‐language,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of industrial medicine Vol. 61; no. 2; pp. 167 - 180
Main Authors: Maguire, Brian J., O'Meara, Peter, O'Neill, Barbara J., Brightwell, Richard
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2018
Subjects:
Aggression
assault
Criteria
Economic impact
Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Medical Technicians
EMS
fatality
Health services
Humans
Impact analysis
Literature reviews
Medical personnel
Occupational Injuries - epidemiology
Occupational Injuries - prevention & control
paramedics
Personal communication
Risk
Risk reduction
Systematic review
Violence
Workplace Violence - prevention & control
Workplace Violence - statistics & numerical data
assault
EMS
fatality
paramedics
violence
ISSN:0271-3586, 1097-0274, 1097-0274
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background Violence against emergency medical services (EMS) personnel is a growing concern. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the current literature on violence against EMS personnel. Methods We examined literature from 2000 to 2016. Eligibility criteria included English‐language, peer‐reviewed studies of EMS personnel that described violence or assaults. Sixteen searches identified 2655 studies; 25 studies from nine countries met the inclusion criteria. Results The evidence from this review demonstrates that violence is a common risk for EMS personnel. We identified three critical topic areas: changes in risk over time, economic impact of violence and, outcomes of risk‐reduction interventions. There is a lack of peer reviewed research of interventions, with the result that current intervention programs have no reliable evidence base. Conclusions EMS leaders and personnel should work together with researchers to design, implement, evaluate and publish intervention studies designed to mitigate risks of violence to EMS personnel.
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ISSN:0271-3586
1097-0274
1097-0274
DOI:10.1002/ajim.22797