Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency medical professionals
literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14195/1647-7723_30-1_12Keywords:
Emergency medical technicians, COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, literature reviewAbstract
The pandemic has aggravated the risk of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) developing psychological disorders by increasing their levels of trauma, stress, and anxiety. These psychological indicators have been studied in nurses and doctors, but less so in EMTs. We intend to present a literature review on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on EMTs, with a focus on mental/psychological health. In April 2022, the search at EBSCOhost employed the terms: "paramedic* or emergency medical service or EMT or ambulance" and "covid-19 or coronavirus or 2019-ncov or sars-cov-2 or cov-19". We found 58 articles published between 2020 and 2022, of which 30 were selected as a sample and analysed for psychological indicators, main findings and objectives (focus on medical guidelines and procedures/instruments for protection or on the study of mental health and psychological symptoms). The results indicated a lack of studies related to the mental health of these professionals during the pandemic. It is therefore essential to monitor their mental/psychological health due to the duration and impact caused by the pandemic.
Keywords: Emergency medical technicians, COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, literature review.
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