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Cited by 89Stress and Burnout ResearchWorkplace Health and Well-beingOccupational Health and Burnout

Occupational stressors and its organizational and individual correlates: A nationwide study of Norwegian ambulance personnel

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Sterud, Tom, Hem, Erlend, Ekeberg, Øivind, Lau, Bjørn·2008·BMC Emergency Medicine
DOI 10.1186/1471-227x-8-16PMC PMC2612695
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: High levels of stress among ambulance personnel have been attributed to the conditions of ambulance work. However, there is little research to support this notion, and it has been questioned whether ambulance work is inherently stressful. We compared the severity and frequency level of organizational and ambulance-specific stressors, and studied their relationship to organizational conditions and individual differences METHODS: A comprehensive nationwide questionnaire survey of ambulance personnel (n = 1180) in operational duty. The questionnaire included the Job Stress Survey, the Norwegian Ambulance Stress Survey, the Basic Character Inventory, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and questions addressing organizational conditions. RESULTS: Serious operational tasks and physical demands were identified as the two most severe stressors. Lack of support from co-workers was the most severe and frequent organizational stressor. Higher frequency of stressors was most strongly associated with size of service districts (beta ranging between .18 and .30, p < .01) and working overtime (beta ranging from .13 to .27, p < .05). Stressor severity was related to lack of support after exposure to critical event (beta ranging from .11 to .24, p < .01) and working overtime. Neuroticism (beta ranging from .09 to .17, p < .01) and low general self-efficacy (beta ranging from -.12 to -.16, p < .001) were equally strongly related to severity of stressors, as were organizational conditions. CONCLUSION: Ambulance-specific stressors were reported as both more severe and more frequently occurring stressors than were organizational stressors. Organizational working conditions were more strongly related to frequency of job stressors than were individual differences. In general, the relationship between occupational stressors and individual differences was weak.

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  • Accumulations of stress factors correlate with increased risk for paramedics' burnout and fatigue and with changing profession.

    “Accumulations of such aforementioned stress factors have shown correlations with an increased risk for paramedics’ burnout and fatigue and even the changing profession [5, 27, 29, 30]”

    From Paramedics’ perceptions of job demands and resources in Finnish emergency medical services: a qualitative study (2022) · cites this paper as [30]

    The Introduction discusses stressors as possible contributors to psychological stress symptoms in ambulance personnel, and the Discussion says frequent, severe stressors may help predict future health problems. The paper does not report correlations between accumulated stressors and burnout, fatigue, or changing profession. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Employees who perceive a lack of support between co-workers and leaders describe experiencing significant stress.

    “Employees who perceive a lack of support between co-workers and leaders also describe experiencing significant stress [35].”

    From Canadian Public Safety Personnel and Occupational Stressors: How PSP Interpret Stressors on Duty (2020) · cites this paper as [35]

    The Conclusion reports that younger Norwegian ambulance personnel rated lack of support from both co-workers and leaders as more frequent and severe stressors. This supports the connection between perceived lack of support and stressor severity, but the study does not establish it for employees generally. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Authors
Sterud, T., Hem, E., Ekeberg, Ø., & Lau, B.
Affiliations
  • University of Oslo (NO)
  • National Institute of Occupational Health (NO)
Corresponding author
Sterud, Tom
ORCID
Venue
BMC Emergency Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2008-12
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
16-16
ISSN
1471-227X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1471-227x-8-16
PMC
PMC2612695
OpenAlex
W2054083585
Cited by
89
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
FWCI
3.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Emergency Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Laerdal Foundation for Acute Medicine
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
Keywords
occupational stress, ambulance personnel, emergency medical services, occupational stressors, organizational stressors, coworker support, overtime, neuroticism, general self-efficacy, physical demands, critical incidents, working conditions
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Ambulances, Analysis of Variance, Emergency Medical Technicians, Female, Humans, Job Satisfaction, Male, Middle Aged, Norway, Occupational Diseases, Surveys and Questionnaires, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Factors, Social Support, Stress, Psychological, Work Schedule Tolerance, Workload, Self Efficacy, Young Adult

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