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
. 2021 Nov;31(6):1115-1124.
doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v31i6.6.

Emergency Medical Technicians' Experiences of the Challenges of Prehospital Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Mohammad Parvaresh-Masoud  1 , Masoomeh Imanipour  1   2 , Mohammad Ali Cheraghi  1
Affiliations

Emergency Medical Technicians' Experiences of the Challenges of Prehospital Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Mohammad Parvaresh-Masoud et al. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Exploring emergency medical technicians' (EMTs) experiences of COVID-19 epidemic, help to identify the challenges they face in their daily work and develop strategies that address these challenges. This study aimed to explore EMTs' experiences of the challenges of prehospital care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in March-July 2020 using conventional content analysis approach. Fifteen EMTs were purposively selected from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Center in Qom, Iran. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached.

Results: EMTs' experiences of the challenges of prehospital care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic were classified into three main categories including "restless society", "difficult care delivery conditions", and "unprepared organization". The emergent subcategories were "need for information", "limited perception of the COVID-19 risk", "obsessive use of disinfectants", "fear over the transmission of COVID-19 to self and others", "burnout due to heavy workload", "altered communication with hospital staff", "ethical conflicts", "lack of a definite treatment plan", "lack of protective equipment", "staff shortage due to the affliction of EMTs by COVID-19", and "inadequate support by authorities".

Conclusion: During COVID-19 pandemics, EMTs face many challenges including emotional and occupational stress, social strains, risk of affliction by infections, heavy workload, and ethical conflicts and hence, experience difficulties in quality care delivery. Developing appropriate strategies, guidelines, and policies are needed to effectively manage these challenges and improve the quality of prehospital care delivery in COVID-19 epidemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Delivery of Health Care; Emergency Medical Services; Emergency Medical Technicians; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Zhou P, Yang X-L, Wang X-G, Hu B, Zhang L, Zhang W, et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature. 2020;588(7836):E6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gharebaghi R, Heidary F. COVID-19 and Iran: swimming with hands tied! Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20242. - PubMed
    1. Sohrabi C, Alsafi Z, O'Neill N, Khan M, Kerwan A, Al-Jabir A, et al. World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Int J Surg. 2020;76:71–76. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Emami Zeydi A, Ghazanfari MJ, Shaikhi Sanandaj F, Panahi R, Mortazavi H, Karimifar K, et al. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Literature Review from a Nursing Perspective. BioMedicine. 2021;11(3):5–14. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet. 2020;395(10223):497–506. - PMC - PubMed