Affiliation:
1. Health Psychologist and Former Health Psychology Professional Doctorate Student
2. Subject Leader
Abstract
Background: An estimated 27% of ambulance personnel experience general psychological distress. The relationship between work and mental health is complex. Aims: This study aimed to explore whether and to what extent individual factors affect the mental health of ambulance personnel. Methods: Four UK NHS ambulance trusts facilitated recruitment of ambulance personnel (n=160). Well-validated measures were used to collect data on the predictor variables: the Perceived Stress Scale; the Satisfaction with Life Scale; and the Brief Resilience Scale. Mental health, assessed according to response to trauma measured by the Impact of Events Scale Revised (IES-r), and anxiety and depression, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), were the outcome measures. Findings: Regression models demonstrated that all predictor variables accounted for nearly half of the variance in each outcome (P<0.01). Conclusions: A significant proportion of variance was accounted for by individual factors. This assists in understanding the impact and role of individual factors in the mental health of this occupational group. Future research could inform intervention development.