Publications (29) View all
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Article: Fear, familiarity, and the perception of risk: a quantitative analysis of disaster-specific concerns of paramedics.
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ABSTRACT: Paramedics play an integral role in the response to and management of disasters and mass casualty events. Providing a core component of the front line response to disasters, paramedics potentially expose themselves to a variety of health and safety risks, including physical injury, death, communicable disease, and psychological effects. The health and safety risks to emergency service personnel were highlighted by the deaths of firefighters, paramedics, and police during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the infection, illness, and deaths of paramedics and emergency health care staff during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003. Given that a willing and able prehospital workforce is a vital component of any successful response to a disaster situation, the present study explored paramedics' perception of risk and willingness to work, with a specific focus on identifying which type of disasters that paramedics associate with greater levels of fear, familiarity, and risk. A total of 175 paramedics completed a survey ranking 40 disaster scenarios for levels of fear and familiarity. The results indicate that paramedics ranked nuclear and radiological events and outbreaks of new and highly infectious disasters highest for fear and unfamiliarity. This has implications for preparedness, education, and training.Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 03/2011; 5(1):46-53. · 1.53 Impact Factor -
Article: Lessons from the front lines: the prehospital experience of the 2009 novel H1N1 outbreak in Victoria, Australia.
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ABSTRACT: The H1N1 (swine influenza) 2009 outbreak in Victoria, Australia, provided a unique opportunity to review the prehospital response to a public health emergency. As part of Ambulance Victoria's response to the outbreak, relevant emergency response plans and pandemic plans were instigated, focused efforts were aimed at encouraging the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and additional questions were included in the call-taking script for telephone triage of emergency calls to identify potential cases of H1N1 from the point of call. As a result, paramedics were alerted to all potential cases of H1N1 influenza or any patient who met the current case definition before their arrival on the scene and were advised to use appropriate PPE. During the period of May 1 to July 2, Ambulance Victoria telephone triaged 1598 calls relating to H1N1 (1228 in metropolitan areas and 243 in rural areas) and managed 127 calls via a referral service that provides specific telephone triage for potential H1N1 influenza cases based on the national call-taking script. The referral service determines whether a patient requires an emergency ambulance or can be diverted to other resources such as flu clinics. Key lessons learned during the H1N1 outbreak include a focused need for continued education and communication regarding infection control and the appropriate use of PPE. Current guidelines regarding PPE use are adequate for use during an outbreak of infectious disease. Compliance with PPE needs to be addressed through the use of intra-agency communications and regular information updates early in the progress of the outbreak.Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 12/2009; 3 Suppl 2:S154-9. · 1.53 Impact Factor -
Article: Paramedics and the effects of shift work on sleep: a literature review.
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ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the literature regarding the impact of shift work on prehospital emergency providers. While the issue of shift work has been thoroughly investigated in other health disciplines, this is not the case for the paramedic discipline, particularly in the Australian context. To identify the literature available on prehospital providers regarding the effects of shift work on sleep. Electronic databases used were the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Ovid MEDLINE, Proquest, AMED and CINAHL. The following MeSH terms and keywords with truncation were used in the search strategy: 'shift work'; 'sleep disorder'; 'sleep deprivation'; 'circadian rhythm'; 'fatigue'; 'occupational stress'. The electronic databases cited 226 articles, of which nine met the inclusion criteria with another three articles sourced from references in the retrieved papers. There is a lack of literature describing the effect of shift work on sleep in the prehospital arena, with only one paper exploring paramedics in the Australian setting. These findings suggest that further work is required to examine shift hours and workforce health and safety in the prehospital setting. Shift work can affect health and well-being on a variety of levels, both physiologically and psychologically, affecting aspects of work and personal life. Further research is warranted to prevent the issues of patient safety, work-related fatigue and the cumulative effects of shift work.Emergency Medicine Journal 10/2010; 29(2):152-5. · 1.44 Impact Factor -
Article: Can interdisciplinary clinical DVD simulations transform clinical fieldwork education for paramedic, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and nursing students?
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ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to examine the usefulness of DVD simulations in a clinical teaching context, their impact on student learning, and their potential as a supplemental learning option for clinical placements/fieldwork education rotations that might assist in reducing the burden on the health care system. Eleven clinical DVD simulations were developed by Monash University academic staff from four academic departments: nursing, occupational therapy, paramedics, and physiotherapy. Undergraduate students (n = 394) from these health science groups viewed the DVD simulations. Student perceptions and attitudes about the clinical relevance of the DVD simulations were assessed on a 7-point Likert-type scale standardized questionnaire (7 indicating the highest satisfaction score). Qualitative data were also collected from three focus groups that involved 24 students, assessing if and how the DVD simulations influenced the clinical fieldwork education placement learning experiences of the students. Overall, students' responses to the questionnaire indicated that they were satisfied with the DVD simulations with relation to attention (mean 4.25, SD 0.95), learning potential (mean 5.25, SD 1.16), clinical relevance to practice (mean 4.36, SD 0.60), and information-processing quality (mean 5.45, SD 0.23). Qualitative data supported the notions of interdisciplinary teamwork, clinical placements, clinical placement education, and DVD quality evaluation and feedback. Students viewed the simulations as being educationally, professionally, and clinically relevant. The cost benefit of using DVD simulations to replace or supplement components of clinical fieldwork education should be investigated further.Journal of allied health 01/2010; 39(1):3-10. -
Article: Trends in the paramedic workforce: a profession in transition.
Australian health review: a publication of the Australian Hospital Association 11/2009; 33(4):533-40. · 0.55 Impact Factor
