ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Public Health
doi: 10.25005/2074-0581-2025-27-4-864-878
PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS ON EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY

A.S. MELNIKOV1, M.S. KUNAFIN2, E.V. NELYUBINA3, A.F. AMIROV3

1Department of General Chemistry, Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa, Russian Federation
2Department of Emergency Care and Disaster Medicine, Thermal Injury and Transfusiology, Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa, Russian Federation
3Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa, Russian Federation

Objective: To study the mental health of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel to identify opportunities for enhancing productivity and efficiency in delivering medical services.

Methods: The study analyzed survey results from 215 of EMS personnel in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, representing 31.9% of the total EMS workforce. To assess EMS personnel's mental health, standardized psychometric tests were used, including the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Cohen-Williamson Stress Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The study evaluated the effectiveness of these methods using sensitivity and specificity indicators and analyzed the relationships between mental health and sociodemographic variables across nine groups using Statistica 13.0 (StatSoft Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA) and StatTech 4.7.2 (LLC Stattech, Moscow, Russia).

Results: The analysis of the correlation between age and mental health revealed an exponential increase in trait anxiety levels as EMS providers age. Study participants aged 25-40 showed lower stress resistance thresholds and higher stress indicators. This age group also showed significant depression symptoms, with scores of 79.2±2.48 and 81.3±4.21 compared to 99.1±0.95 in other groups (r>0.75). The relationship between total years of service and mental health indicated that EMS providers with over 10 years of total service demonstrated a marked rise in adverse psychological effects. Specifically, trait anxiety increased by up to 8±0.48%, stress resistance decreased by more than 3±0.39%, and depression increased by over 4±0.27% (r>0.75). An analysis of the relationship between workload and mental health showed that exceeding a workload of time-and-a-half (also known as full-time equivalent, or 1.5 FTE) significantly increased trait anxiety by 3±0.12% (r>0.75). In contrast, the effects on other psychological characteristics ranged from minimal to more pronounced. Specifically, stress resistance increased by approximately 1±0.02% (r>0.75), while depression rose by over 4±0.14% (r>0.75) when the workload shifted from standard, regularly scheduled 1.0 FTE shifts to 1.5 FTE shifts

Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of a targeted strategy to enhance the psychological well-being of EMS personnel. This strategy includes implementing preventive measures such as psychological training and improving working conditions.

Keywords: Emergency medical providers, burnout, stress resilience, anxiety levels, mental health, emotional well-being, depression, productivity in healthcare..

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Authors' information:

Melnikov Aleksandr Sergeevich,
PhD (Pharmaceutical Sciences), Associate Professor of the Department of General Chemistry, Bashkir State Medical University
Researcher ID: JWP-9898-2024
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0015-2891
SPIN: 5606-2635
Author ID: 956802
E-mail: melnikus@yandex.ru

Kunafin Marat Saubanovich,
Doctor of Medical Sciences, Head of the Department of Emergency Care and Disaster Medicine, Thermal Injury and Transfusiology, Bashkir State Medical University
Scopus ID: 7801545286
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8638-1590
SPIN: 3994-0674
Author ID: 778004
E-mail: kunafin-ms@yandex.ru

Nelyubina Ekaterina Vladimirovna,
Senior Lecturer of the Department Pedagogy and Psychology, Bashkir State Medical University
ORCID ID: 0009-0004-2416-4891
SPIN: 5772-4092
Author ID: 1028629
E-mail: danilova_rina@list.ru

Amirov Artur Ferdsovich,
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Head of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Bashkir State Medical University
Scopus ID: 5718838844
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1061-3460
SPIN: 1313-5681
Author ID: 259306
E-mail: amirov.af@yandex.ru

Information about support in the form of grants, equipment, medications

The authors did not receive financial support from manufacturers of medicines and medical equipment

Conflicts of interest: No conflict

Address for correspondence:

Melnikov Aleksandr Sergeevich
PhD (Pharmaceutical Sciences), Associate Professor of the Department of General Chemistry, Bashkir State Medical University

450008, Russian Federation, Ufa, Lenin str., 3

Tel.: +7 (917) 4092608

E-mail: melnikus@yandex.ru


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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