Brian Maguire
Doctorate
Doctorate Title: Occupational risks among EMS personnel.
Doctorate Description: Context. Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel treat approximately 22 million patients a year in the U.S. However, little is known about the risks associated with this occupation.
Objective. Determine the epidemiology of occupational injuries and illnesses among EMS personnel.
Design. This descriptive epidemiology study is a retrospective review of records routinely kept by two EMS agencies. They submitted 617 case reports for a study period that included an estimated 2,829,906 work hours between January 1, 1998 and July 15, 2002. The agencies provided 100% of the injury records for each time period noted. Cases were coded and evaluated by demographic factors, by EMS-specific factors and by Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) criteria.
Setting. Two urban EMS agencies with a total of 409 full time EMS workers.
Participants. All EMS workers employed by the agencies during the study periods.
Results. 502 cases met the BLS criteria for inclusion as recordable injuries or illnesses. “Sprains, strains and tears” was the leading category of injury; “Health care patient” was the leading source. The overall EMS injury and illness rate is 35.5 per 100 full-time workers. This is approximately six times higher than the national occupational average reported by BLS for 2000 (the mid-point of the study the highest rate reported by BLS for that year was for meat packing plants (rate = 24.7). The national rate for firefighters is estimated to be 20.5. Of the 502 cases, 285 (57%) resulted in lost work days; the rate is 2,014.2 per 10,000 full-time workers. In comparison, the BLS national average was 181.1 (relative risk > 11). The relative risk for transportation incidents was greater than 30.
Conclusion. A national database must be established to collect EMS injury and illness data. Further research and interventions must be implemented to begin mitigating this serious national health problem.
Details:
Type: PhD / Professional Doctorate / EdD
University: The George Washington University
Primary Supervisor: Professor Kathy Hunting
Category: Staff Wellbeing
Funding: None
Start Date:
End Date: 2004
Status: Complete
Thesis
ThesisResearch Interests
Occupational risks, disaster management, health systems, education
Publications
Maguire BJ, Hunting KL, Guidotti TL, Smith GS. Occupational Injuries Among Emergency Medical Services Personnel. Prehosp Emergency Care. 2005; 9: 405–411. Full text available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10903120500255065
Maguire BJ, Hunting KL, Smith GS, Levick NR. Occupational Fatalities in EMS: A Hidden Crisis. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2002; 40(6): 625-632. Full text available at: http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(02)00661-3/fulltext
Maguire BJ, Hunting KL, Guidotti TL, Smith GS. The epidemiology of occupational injuries and illnesses among emergency medical services personnel. ProQuest Pub 2004.
Paramedic PhD is endorsed by:
