8/9/2019 2015NAEMSP Poster (Boland - Wellbeing01) FINAL.pdf
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Demographic factors and social support and their associationwith
burnout and perceived stress in EMS workersLori L. Boland, MPH;
Russell N. Myers, BCC; Pamela J. Mink, PhD; Karl M. Fernstrom, MPH;
William M. Spinelli, MD
Allina Health Emergency Medical Services, St. Paul,
Minnesota
LIMITATIONS54% response rate
No multivariate analysis; possible uncontrolled confounding
RESULTSN = 217 survey responses (54%; Table 1)Prevalence of
burnout was 18%, and decreasedwith age (Table 2)
Lower prevalence of burnout observed amongthose who are married,
have children, orrespond in rural settings (Table 2)
Perceived stress scores were significantly higherin females and
those who respond in metroareas (Table 2)
Strong positive association observed between
social isolation and both burnout and stress(Table 3)
111023 1214 2014 ALLINA HEALTHSYSTEM. TMA TRADEMARKOF ALLINA
HEALTH SYSTEM.
BACKGROUNDEmergency medical services (EMS) respondersexperience
occupational stress due to repeatedexposure to traumatic and
life-threatening events
Few ambulance services in the United States haveevaluated
burnout and stress among prehospitalclinicians
OBJECTIVES
Assess professional burnout and perceived stressamong EMS
workers using validated instruments
Investigate associations between burnout, stress,demographic
characteristics, and social support
METHODSSetting & Design
Large ambulance service in Minnesota
Cross-sectional, 165-item electronic survey
Distributed to all employees (n=400) in September2012
MeasuresMaslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)used to
assessprofessional burnout
Cohens Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) score range0-14, higher
values indicate more stress
Berkmann-Syme Social Network Index (BS-SNI)used to characterize
respondents degree of socialconnectedness
Results are expressed as mean (SD) or percent (n)
Table 1:Demographic characteristics of surveyrespondents
Table 2:Prevalence of burnout and mean stress score
bydemographic factors
aDefined as having a high level on the emotional exhaustion or
depersonalization subscales; bResults areexpressed as mean (SD);
cp-value for Pearson chi-square or independent samples t-test.
CONCLUSIONSIn this population of EMS responders,
socialconnectedness was associated with lower levels ofburnout and
perceived stress. These results suggestthere may be a need for
organizational efforts thatfoster professional interconnectedness
in EMSsystems.
VariableRespondents
(n=217)
Age, y 40 (11.5)
Age categories18-29
30-39 40-49 50+
27% (58)20% (43)25% (54)27% (57)
Gender Male Female
60% (131)40% (84)
Highest level of education High school diploma or equivalent
Some college College graduate or beyond
4% (9)50% (108)46% (99)
Parental Status Parent Not a parent
65% (140)35% (74)
Current Relationship Status Single Married/Partnered
23% (49)77% (162)
Years as EMS provider 1 2-5 6-10 11-20 >20
3% (6)18% (40)23% (50)24% (51)32% (70)
Primary response setting Metro Non-Metro/Rural
70% (152)30% (64)
Variable % withBurnouta
p-valuec
MeanPSSb
p-valuec
All respondents 18% (37) 4.8 (3.2)
Age categories 18-29 30-39 40-49 50+
27% (15)21% (9)
20% (10)5% (3)
0.025.2 (3.4)4.7 (3.3)4.8 (3.0)4.4 (2.9)
0.60
Gender Male Female
18% (22)18% (15)
0.96 4.4 (3.1)5.4 (3.2)
0.03
Parental Status Parent
Not a parent
13% (18)
26% (18)
0.02 4.6 (3.1)
5.1 (3.4)
0.30
Current Relationship Status Single Married/Partnered
28% (13)15% (23)
0.03 5.2 (3.6)4.7 (3.1)
0.34
Years as EMS provider 1 2-5 6-10 11-20 >20
0% (0)19% (7)
27% (13)14% (7)
15% (10)
0.31
3.3 (1.9)4.5 (3.1)5.4 (3.4)4.0 (3.1)5.3 (3.1)
0.11
Primary response setting Metro Non-Metro/Rural
21% (31)10% (6)
0.05 5.1 (3.2)4.1 (2.8)
0.03
BS-SNIscore Level of social connection % with Burnout Mean
PSS
0 or 1 Socially isolated 39% (10/26) 6.0
2 Moderately isolated 19% (11/58) 4.8
3 Moderately integrated 16% (8/51) 5.0
4 Socially integrated 7% (3/43) 3.8
Table 3:Prevalence of burnout and mean stress score by
category
of social connectednessa
aBased on Berkmann-Syme Social Network Index (BS-SNI)
