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EMERG-ing data: Multi-city surveillance of workplace violence against EMS responders
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

EMERG-ing data: Multi-city surveillance of workplace violence against EMS responders

Jennifer A Taylor, Regan Marie Murray, Margaret Binzer, Robert Borse, Andrea L Davis, Victoria Gallogly, Rozhan Ghanbari, Diane McKinsey, David Picone and Gary Wingrove
Journal of safety research, v 86, pp 62-79
Summer 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.06.008
PMID: 37718071
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.06.008View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0,  Open

Abstract

EMS Workplace violence Injury Occupational Health
• Between 1980 and 2021, emergency medical services (EMS) calls experienced a 421% increase while calls for fires declined by 55%. • In a one year pilot of work place violence (WPV) reporting in 3 fire departments, verbal violence was present in 81% of all reports and physical violence in 19%. Patients were the most frequently reported assailant (73%). • The most frequently reported injury was emotional stress (70%). Six percent of all injuries reported moderate-to-major physical injury severity, and 30% reported moderate-to-major mental injury severity. • In order to ensure robust surveillance, it remains likely that triangulation of multiple data sources will still be required to approximate the true WPV burden. Problem: Between 1980 and 2021, emergency medical services (EMS) calls experienced a 421% increase, while calls for fires declined by 55%. The more exposure, the more the opportunity for workplace violence (WPV). Due to the non– existence of a reporting system that captures physical and verbal violence, it has been difficult to quantify the degree of WPV experienced by the U.S. fire and rescue service. Methods: To describe WPV in three large metropolitan fire departments, an existing data system was modified. The EMERG platform was selected because it is one of the most confidential data systems available to collect exposures. Results: In a one-year pilot of EMERG, 126 events were reported. Verbal violence was present in 81% of all reports, with physical violence only at 19%. Patients were the most frequently reported assailant (73%).The most frequently reported injury was emotional stress (70%). Six percent of all injuries reported moderate-to-major physical injury severity, and 30% reported moderate-to-major mental injury severity. Discussion: Verbal violence as a contributor to first responder stress is often underestimated. This pilot shows that it can and should be captured. That mental injury severity was consistently rated higher than physical injury severity across all injuries is not surprising given the prevalence of verbal violence reported and because physical violence has emotional sequela. Summary: Data from the EMERG reporting system give us evidence, on a larger scale than has ever existed for the fire and rescue service, that verbal and physical violence, and the resultant emotional stress and mental injury severity, is an issue that needs further attention and resources. Practical Applications: In order to ensure robust surveillance, it remains likely that triangulation of multiple data sources will still be required to approximate the true burden.

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5 citations in Web of Science
3 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Ergonomics
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Transportation
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