Journal article
Injury risks of EMS responders: evidence from the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System
BMJ open, v 5(6), pp e007562-e007562
Jun 2015
PMID: 26068510
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
ObjectivesWe analysed near-miss and injury events reported to the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System (NFFNMRS) to investigate the workplace hazards and safety concerns of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responders in the USA.MethodsWe reviewed 769 ‘non-fire emergency event’ reports from the NFFNMRS using a mixed methods approach. We identified 185 emergency medical calls and analysed their narrative text fields. We assigned Mechanism of Near-Miss/Injury and Nature of Injury codes and then tabulated frequencies (quantitative). We coded major themes regarding work hazards and safety concerns reported by the EMS responders (qualitative).ResultsOf the 185 emergency medical calls, the most commonly identified Mechanisms of Near-Miss/Injury to EMS responders was Assaults, followed by Struck-by Motor Vehicle, and Motor Vehicle Collision. The most commonly identified weapon used in an assault was a firearm. We identified 5 major domains of workplace hazards and safety concerns: Assaults by Patients, Risks from Motor Vehicles, Personal Protective Equipment, Relationships between Emergency Responders, and Policies, Procedures and Practices.ConclusionsNarrative text from the NFFNMRS is a rich source of data that can be analysed quantitatively and qualitatively to provide insight into near-misses and injuries sustained by EMS responders. Near-miss reporting systems are critical components for occupational hazard surveillance.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Injury risks of EMS responders: evidence from the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System
- Creators
- Jennifer A Taylor - Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USAAndrea L Davis - Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USABrittany Barnes - Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USAAlicia V Lacovara - University of New Mexico, College of Nursing, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USAReema Patel - Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Publication Details
- BMJ open, v 5(6), pp e007562-e007562
- Publisher
- British Medical Journal (BMJ)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Environmental and Occupational Health
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000363479900064
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84937239390
- Other Identifier
- 991014878102204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health