Threats and violence in the Swedish pre-hospital emergency care.
International Emergency Nursing · 2010-04-18 · Observational study
Abstract
Although acts of threats and violence are problems that have received increased attention in recent years within Swedish pre-hospital care, only a handful of scientific studies have been carried out in this field. Threats and violence have a negative influence on the well-being of ambulance personnel. The aim in this study was both to investigate the incidents of threats and violence within the Swedish ambulance service and to describe these situations. Data was collected with questionnaires answered by 134 registered nurses and paramedics from 11 ambulance stations located in four counties. The respondents' experiences of pre-hospital care varied from 3 months to 41 years (mean=12 years, median=8 years). The results showed that 66% of the ambulance personnel experienced threats and/or violence during their work while 26% experienced threats and 16% faced physical violence during the last year. The most common kind of threat was threats of physical violence with 27% of the respondents experiencing threats involving weapons. Commonly occurring physical violence was in the form of pushes, punches, kicks and bites. In most cases, the perpetrator was the patient himself often under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The most serious situations occurred when the reason for raising the ambulance alarm was intoxication or a decreased level of consciousness.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Ambulance & prehospital nurses · Clinician perspective · Paramedics & EMTs
Related articles
- [Occupational aspects of emergency medicine practice in Catalonia: the OPENCAT opinion survey]. (Emergencias, 2017)
- Being prepared for the unprepared: a phenomenology field study of Swedish prehospital care. (J Emerg Nurs, 2012)
- Caring for older people in prehospital emergency care: can nurses make a difference? (J Clin Nurs, 2005)
- A qualitative study about experiences and emotions of emergency medical technicians and out-of-hospital emergency nurses after performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation resulting in death. (Enferm Intensiva, 2017)
- Ethical conflicts in prehospital emergency care. (Nurs Ethics, 2006)
- Prejudice between triage nurses and emergency medical technicians: is it a big deal? (Acta Biomed, 2021)