2021 Volume 24 Issue 4 Pages 569-577
Aims: Neither the physical burden of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) nor their equipment has changed in Japan since 1991. This study aims to identify the occupational hazards of EMTs and assessing the occurrence of adverse work-related events that EMTs face.
Methods: The data on adverse events of EMTs were extracted from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency database in Japan. In the database, adverse events are divided into two categories: accident cases and incident cases. An accident case refers to a situation caused by EMT activities, resulting in injuries among EMTs or patients who require medical care. An incident case refers to a situation that was about to occur but did not.
Results: Lower back pain is caused by transporting (moving, raising, and lowering) patients; moreover, a lack of experience is associated with a higher risk of accident events compared with incident events. Accidents are common, notably falls while operating stretchers. Falls commonly occur when transferring a patient onto a stretcher at the scene and unloading a stretcher from the ambulance after arriving at the hospital. The multivariate analysis reveals that a lack of safety confirmation for the tasks during loading or unloading a stretcher from the ambulance is associated with falls.
Conclusions: Work procedures should be revised, and ergonomically designed equipment should be used to alleviate the physical burden of EMTs and to reduce the risk of adverse events in emergency medical services.
