Near misses and presenteeism among paramedics

Abstract

Background: Paramedics need to be in good physical health to be able to respond to emergencies. We hypothesized that near misses by paramedics and unanticipated incidents that cause no harm may be associated with presenteeism during emergency rescues.

Aims: To examine the association between presenteeism and near misses among paramedics.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 254 paramedics using a self-administered questionnaire. Presenteeism was measured using the work functioning impairment scale (WFun).

Results: Twelve per cent of respondents experienced high work function impairment indicating presenteeism. The rate of near-miss experiences steadily increased with increasing work function impairment among paramedics (WFun score category: middle, odds ratio (OR) 3.62, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.62-8.11; high, OR 4.36, 95% CI 1.37-13.84; very high, OR 8.62, 95% CI 2.09-35.48).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated a positive relationship between impaired work function indicating presenteeism and near misses among paramedics. This suggests that presenteeism may be associated with errors that have the potential to cause serious accidents. Improved access to treatment for frequent health problems may reduce the number of incidents among paramedics.

Keywords: Emergency medical services; medical error; near misses; paramedics; presenteeism.