Assessing paramedic performance and background factors in emerging disease outbreak

Abstract

Background: Prehospital paramedics played a critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate paramedic performance and background factors in the outbreak of this emerging disease. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 335 paramedics selected from 49 emergency medical services stations in Urmia and Tabriz cities, Iran. Data was collected using a questionnaire to assess the demographics and performance of paramedics in caring for COVID-19 patients. The response rate for the questionnaires was 90%. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis in SPSS version 21. The level of statistical significance was considered less than 0.05. Results: The average age of the paramedics was 32.81 years (71.3% were 35 years old or younger). Results showed that assessing patients' vital signs, checking for COVID-19 symptoms/signs, administering oxygen and IV fluids, recommending home care, and transporting patients to the emergency department were the most common actions taken by paramedics. Invasive procedures performed by paramedics included cardiopulmonary resuscitation (60.9%), intubation (53.1%), and suctioning (38.8%). However, 15.5% of paramedics reported not performing physical exams on patients due to fear of COVID-19. A statistically significant correlation was observed between paramedics' performance and their education level, educational qualifications, and history of COVID-19 disease (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Study results provide insight into paramedic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. During emerging disease outbreaks, further training and the provision of necessary personal protective equipment could help paramedics perform all tasks without undue concern for personal safety.

Keywords

• covid-19
• emergency medical service
• paramedics
• pre-hospital emergency care