Unsafe Behaviors among Pre-Hospital Emergency Staff in Ardabil, Iran: An Exploration of Contributing Factors

Abstract

Abstract Objective: This study aims to investigate unsafe behaviors and their relationship with work-related factors among pre-hospital emergency staff in Ardabil province, northwestern Iran. Background: Pre-hospital emergency staff play an essential role in delivering healthcare services and often encounter various safety incidents. Many of these safety incidents stem from unsafe behaviors, such as regulatory violations, negligence in taking preventive measures, or reckless actions. Unsafe behaviors are linked to factors such as stress, fatigue, and teamwork failures. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study included all pre-hospital emergency service staff. By using convenience sampling, 284 questionnaires were completed. Survey instruments included the Mearnz Unsafe Behavior Scale, Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, Michilson Fatigue Scale, and Patterson Teamwork Scale. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlation coefficient, and linear regression using SPSS 16.0 software. Results: The participants' mean score for unsafe behavior was 15.80 ± 4.77. Variables such as partner trust and shared mental models (PTSMM), physical fatigue, age, type of shift, employment status, and overtime hours per month had a significant impact on the general unsafe behavior of pre-hospital emergency staff (p<0.01). Also, variables including mild task conflict (MTC), employment status, partner trust, and shared mental models (PTSMM) significantly influenced unsafe behavior under incentives among these staff (p<0.01). Conclusion: Work-related factors such as stress, fatigue, and failure in teamwork affect the unsafe behaviors of pre-hospital emergency workers. Establishing a culture of reporting problems and conducting surveys among staff to enhance safety and mitigate these behaviors is imperative. A significant role can be played in reducing unsafe and dangerous behaviors by developing educational programs to improve teamwork skills, schedule appropriate shifts, manage fatigue, and provide safety training to younger staff.