Eighth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Australia has a well-developed Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system that is comparable in terms of performance measures and outcomes with other industrialized countries around the world. The front line staff are paramedics defined as mobile healthcare workers specializing in managing clinical emergencies and acute health issues in the community. The demands of paramedic job performance are multifactorial, including lifting and carrying patients, loading and unloading stretchers and performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. These physical demands are coupled with having to make complex clinical decisions during calls in complex social environments. The ability to competently carry out the physical, skill performance and decision making aspects of this job may suffer when combined with varying levels of provider fatigue, general level of fitness and other factors. We studied the health status, physical activity levels, and fitness of New South Wales Ambulance paramedics to better understand why they report high levels of illness and injury compared to other occupations. Additionally, we used biometric monitoring of physiologic and other measures on a subset as they responded to emergency calls.