Perceived Occupational Risks of Emergency Medical Services Personnel

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel are among the first groups to arrive at the scene of incidents that disrupt daily life routines, such as disasters. Since the working conditions and responsibilities of these teams are quite demanding, they are exposed to a substantial likelihood of persistent physical and mental health issues during or after responding to incidents. Protecting the long-term mental and physical health of these personnel, meticulously monitoring their progress, and improving their working conditions ensure the continuity of EMS services. The study aims to evaluate work-related risks perceived by EMS personnel in crisis situations, particularly disasters. To examine these perceived risks, a scale consisting of 27 items (four subscales) was utilized. The scale was developed and field-tested within the scope of this research. While the scale development process and field applications were addressed in two separate studies, this paper presents only the field application of the scale on a sample. The field study was conducted online with 448 volunteer EMS personnel serving in Ankara. The dataset was examined using the latest licensed version of SPSS. The findings indicate that the mean occupational risk level perceived by the participating EMS personnel is high (4.06). Among the subdimensions, the highest perceived risk level (4.58-very high) pertains to adverse Working Conditions