Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Mar 4;12(1):16-22.
eCollection 2019 Mar.

Massage Therapy in Management of Occupational Stress in Emergency Medical Services Staffs: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Mahdi Mahdizadeh  1 , Ali Ansari Jaberi  2 , Tayebeh Negahban Bonabi  3
Affiliations

Massage Therapy in Management of Occupational Stress in Emergency Medical Services Staffs: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Mahdi Mahdizadeh et al. Int J Ther Massage Bodywork. .

Abstract

Background: Results of various studies indicate that emergency medical service (EMS) staff suffer from occupational stress that adversely affects their quality of life and their care quality.

Purpose: This study aimed at determining the effect of massage on occupational stress experienced by emergency medical service staff.

Setting: Prehospital emergency medical services stations of a city in the southwest of Iran.

Participants: A total of 58 members of staff of the emergency medical services, working in prehospital emergency medical services stations.

Research design: In this randomized controlled trial, a total of 58 EMS staff were selected from prehospital EMS stations, according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and then assigned in two groups (29 in massage and 29 in control group) randomly by the minimization method. The intervention group received Swedish massage, twice a week for four weeks in the morning after the end of the work shift. Each massage session lasted 20-25 minutes. Subjects in the control group received no intervention. The level of occupational stress of the two groups was measured under the same conditions before and after the intervention by using the expanded nurses' occupational stress scale (ENSS). Data were analyzed with the SPSS16 software by using the chi-squared test, paired and independent-sample t tests, one-way ANCOVA. P value < .05 was considered as the level of significance.

Results: The mean and SD of total occupational stress scores in the control group was 114.41±30.11 in pretest and reach to 112.58± 30.62 in posttest stage. Also the mean and SD of total occupational stress scores in the intervention group was 130.20±26.45 in pretest and reach to 110.41±21.75 in posttest stage. A one-way ANCOVA showed that there is a significant effect of massage on EMS staff's occupational stress level after controlling for pretest score (p = .001).

Conclusions: The training and the application of massage therapy can serve as an effective method in reducing occupational stress in emergency medical centers.

Keywords: complementary medicine; emergency medical services; job stress; massage therapy; occupational stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST NOTIFICATION The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Gholamzadeh S, Sharif F, Rad FD. Sources of occupational stress and coping strategies among nurses who work in Admission and Emergency Departments of Hospitals related to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Iranian J Nursing Midwifery Res. 2011;16(1):41–46. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guise J-M, Hansen M, O’Brien K, Dickinson C, Meckler G, Engle P, et al. Emergency medical services responders’ perceptions of the effect of stress and anxiety on patient safety in the out-of-hospital emergency care of children: a qualitative study. BMJ Open. 2017;7(2) doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014057. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ruotsalainen J, Serra C, Marine A, Verbeek J. Systematic review of interventions for reducing occupational stress in health care workers. Scandinavian J Work, Environ Health. 2008;34(3):169–178. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.1240. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mishra S, Goebert D, Char E, Dukes P, Ahmed I. Trauma exposure and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in emergency medical services personnel in Hawaii. Emergency Med J. 2010;27(9):708–711. doi: 10.1136/emj.2009.080622. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Froutan R, Khankeh HR, Fallahi M, Ahmadi F, Norouzi K. Resiliency improvements in medical emergency staff in burn missions: a qualitative Study in an Iranian context. Iranian Red Crescent Med J. 2015;17(7):e22495. doi: 10.5812/ircmj.22495v2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources