TY - JOUR PY - 2018// TI - Violence against emergency medical services personnel: a systematic review of the literature JO - American journal of industrial medicine A1 - Maguire, Brian J. A1 - O'Meara, Peter A1 - O'Neill, Barbara J. A1 - Brightwell, Richard SP - 167 EP - 180 VL - 61 IS - 2 N2 - BACKGROUND: Violence against emergency medical services (EMS) personnel is a growing concern. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the current literature on violence against EMS personnel.

METHODS: We examined literature from 2000 to 2016. Eligibility criteria included English-language, peer-reviewed studies of EMS personnel that described violence or assaults. Sixteen searches identified 2655 studies; 25 studies from nine countries met the inclusion criteria.

RESULTS: The evidence from this review demonstrates that violence is a common risk for EMS personnel. We identified three critical topic areas: changes in risk over time, economic impact of violence and, outcomes of risk-reduction interventions. There is a lack of peer reviewed research of interventions, with the result that current intervention programs have no reliable evidence base.

CONCLUSIONS: EMS leaders and personnel should work together with researchers to design, implement, evaluate and publish intervention studies designed to mitigate risks of violence to EMS personnel.

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0271-3586 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22797 ID - ref1 ER -