Brian J. Maguire, Dr.PH,
MSA
Clinical Associate Professor
Associate Graduate Program Director
Department of Emergency Health Services
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
maguire@umbc.edu
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Maguire
BJ. Hunting KL. Guidotti TL. Smith GS. Occupational Injuries among
Emergency Medical Services Personnel. Prehosp
Emerg Care. 2005; 9(4): 405-11.
Background. Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel treat 22 million
patients a year in the United States, yet little is known of their
injury risks.
Objectives. To describe the epidemiology of occupational injuries among
EMS personnel, calculate injury rates, and compare the findings with
those for other occupational groups.
Methods. This was a retrospective review of injury records kept by two
urban agencies. The agencies submitted all 617 case reports for three
periods between January 1, 1998, and July 15, 2002. The agency
personnel worked an estimated 2,829,906 hours during the study periods.
Cases were coded according to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) criteria.
Results. Four hundred eighty-nine cases met the DOL inclusion criteria.
The overall injury rate was 34.6 per 100 full-time (FT) workers per
year (95% confidence interval [CI] 31.5-37.6). "Sprains, strains, and
tears" was the leading category of injury; the back was the body part
most often injured. Of the 489 cases, 277 (57%) resulted in lost
workdays, resulting in a rate of 19.6 (95% CI 17.3-21.9) per 100 FT
workers; in comparison, the relative risks for EMS workers were 1.5
(95% CI 1.35-1.72) compared with firefighters, 5.8 (95% CI 5.12-6.49)
compared with health services personnel, and 7.0 (95% CI 6.22-7.87)
compared with the national average.
Conclusions. The injury rates for EMS workers are higher than rates
reported by DOL for any industry in 2000. Funding and additional
research are critical to further defining the high risks to EMS workers
and developing interventions to mitigate this serious problem.
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