Citation

Safori M, Alqudah Z, Williams B. Int. J. Emerg. Serv. 2021; 11(1): 74-83.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Emerald Group Publishing)

DOI

10.1108/IJES-09-2020-0056

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

PURPOSE Paramedics responding to emergencies have proven to have an impact on their mental health and well-being. Therefore, measuring and initiating resilience promotion and development during the educational process could promote health in this group. This study aims to cross-sectionally examine the self-reported resilience levels of bachelor paramedic students at a large Australian university.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A cross-sectional study using a convenience sample of first-, second- and third-year bachelor paramedic students was used from a large Australian university. The student's resilience was measured using the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) during 2019.

FINDINGS Two-hundred and twenty-nine students participated in the study, of which 55% were females. The total mean score for the CD-RISC was 72.6 [standard deviation (SD) = 13.2). The CD-RISC mean score of the first-, second- and third-year levels were 75.3 (SD = 13.2), 70.5 (SD = 14.4) and 73.8 (SD = 10.4), respectively, with no significant statistical difference (p-value = 0.1) and of which the second year formed the major sample (44.5%). Additionally, our findings show no significant variation in the CD-RISC mean score between males [70.8 (SD = 12.9)] and females [74.1 (SD = 13.3)], with p-value = 0.09.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE The study findings suggest that paramedic students have moderate levels of self-reported resilience. These results, while specific to one university, provide essential data for the paramedic profession in addressing an important issue facing all paramedics around the world.

Language: en

Keywords

Anxiety; Burnout; Education; Paramedics; Resilience; Well-being