Impact of violence on the burnout status of paramedics in the emergency department: A multicenter survey study.

BACKGROUND: Violence in emergency departments poses a threaten to both medical personnel and patients. We investigated the risk factors for high burnout status and the association between the impact of violence and burnout status of paramedics in emergency departments.

METHODS: We included paramedics of emergency departments in Korea. We conducted a survey on the emotional, physical, and social responses to violence using an assault response questionnaire. Additionally, we evaluated burnout status using the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

RESULTS: This study included 141 participants (57 females), with a mean age of 25.9 years. The burnout status was positively correlated with physical, emotional, and social responses, and the overall impact of violence (r = 0.576, 0.559, 0.446, and 0.590, respectively). Female sex, specialized centers, and emergency departments with <20 beds were associated with a high burnout status (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 13.11 [3.33-51.60], 35.34 [2.19-572.45], and 9.27 [1.75-53.56], respectively). Increased burnout was associated with emotional and physical responses to violence (B = 0.200 and 0.353, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Paramedics of emergency departments were directly affected by violence. Violence was also related to burnout status. Efforts to prevent violence and detect predictive responses signaling an increase in burnout are required, followed by necessary active interventions.