Open AccessLife after the Emergency Services: An Exploratory Study of Well Being and Quality of Life in Emergency Service Retirees
Author(s) -
Bracken Scally M
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of emergency mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.163
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1522-4821
DOI - 10.4172/1522-4821.1000108
Subject(s) - quality of life (healthcare) , medicine , exploratory research , medical emergency , emergency department , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , emergency medical services , injury prevention , suicide prevention , service (business) , emergency treatment , poison control , psychiatry , nursing , business , marketing , sociology , anthropology , pathology
Much is known about the negative impact of emergency services work, but no studies, to date, have investigated its long-term consequences. This cross-sectional study assesses the possible long-term effects on quality of life, of trauma exposure and emergency work in a sample of retirees from the Irish emergency services (n = 169) and a comparison group of non-emergency service retirees (n = 140). A multi-questionnaire postal survey was administered to assess quality of life (QoL; WHOQOL-BREF), experiences of trauma, and trauma symptoms (PSS-SR). QoL was significantly better in non-emergency retirees, whilst this group also had significantly fewer trauma symptoms. Incidents involving children were identified by a large proportion of emergency retirees as being particularly difficult to manage. The findings address a significant gap in our knowledge around the possible longer-term effects of emergency services work in an often neglected sub-group. Factors associated with increased QoL and reduced symptoms of PTSD are discussed, as are some possible recommendations for the future.