How Healthy Are Ambulance Personnel in Central Europe?

Abstract

The health status of ambulance personnel (AP) has an important impact on the quality of patient care. The aim of this study is to analyze the self-fperceived health of AP. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Hungarian AP, in which anonymous data (n = 364 subjects) were evaluated by descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Those AP who reported engaging in any amount of exercise experienced better self-rated health (odds ratio [OR]: 1.7 confidence interval [CI] 95% [1.2, 2.7]) and self-rated physical fitness (OR: 2.0 CI 95% [1.2, 2.9]), and reported less limitation in daily activities due to health problems (OR: 2.4 CI 95% [1.4, 4.0]). Those AP who reported feeling more overall stress reported 2.1 times (CI 95% [1.3, 3.2]) worse health and 1.9 (CI 95% [1.2, 2.8]) times worse self-rated physical fitness. Possibly, physical fitness protocols should be implemented and required or advised for all AP.

Qualitative study of Queensland paramedics' perceived influences on their food and meal choices during shift work

“…Higher incidences of chronic diseases such as overweight and obesity, dyslipidaemia and circulatory disorders have been found within the paramedic population when compared with the general population . Past studies have highlighted the link between working rotating shifts in a range of working environments and the development of adverse health outcomes such as increased body weight, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, impaired glucose and insulin function, as well as other health implications such as sleep disturbances, and digestive problems …”

The role of lifestyle on NHS ambulance workers’ wellbeing

“…The current study emphasizes this within this occupational group given that sleep was identified to have a unique impact on each mental health outcome, most strongly related to trauma. Within this population there are significant detriments to sleep due to shift work, "irregular lifestyle" and competing personal/family commitments (Betlehem et al, 2014;Sofianopoulos, Williams, & Archer, 2012;Toyokuni et al, 2020). Further, exposure to trauma can lead to sleep disturbance, which is a characteristic symptom of post-traumatic stress (Wild et al, 2016), therefore this makes conceptual sense as to why these are strongly related.…”

“…It is generally accepted that health behaviors such as engagement in physical activity, maintaining a good diet, the absence of addiction, minimal psychosocial stressors and good quality sleep have a positive impact on health outcomes (Biddle & Asare, 2011;Dale, Brassington, & King, 2014;Reiner, Niermann, Jekauc, & Woll, 2013;Thorp, Owen, Neuhaus, & Dunstan, 2011;Velten et al, 2014;Walsh, 2011;Wang & Geng, 2019). In a sample of 364 Central European ambulance workers, these findings are somewhat echoed as Betlehem et al (2014) reported that the lifestyle factors, smoking and alcohol consumption are known risk factors contributing to poor health. High quality data pertaining to the lifestyle of an ambulance worker in the UK is limited (Hutchinson, Forshaw, & Poole, 2020).…”

A cerebrovascularis betegségekből eredő, idő előtti halálozás egyenlőtlenségei Európában 1990 és 2014 között

“…A kelet-európai országokban és a szovjet utódállamokban az 1990 utáni gazdasági és finanszírozási változások jelentős hatást gyakoroltak az egészségügyi rendszerek működésére [40][41][42][43][44][45] és benne a neurológiai ellátásokra [46,47].…”