Affiliations: [a] Occupational Performance Lab, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton (NB), Canada
| [b] Department of Health Sciences, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski (QC), Canada
| [c] Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo (ON), Canada
| [d] New Brunswick EMS, Medavie Health Services, Moncton (NB), Canada
| [e] School of Kinesiology and Leisure, Université de Moncton, Moncton (NB), Canada
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Michel J. Johnson, 40 Antonine-Maillet Avenue, CEPS Louis-J. Robichaud, Université de Moncton, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, E1A3E9. Tel.: +1 506 858 4811; Fax: +1 506 858 4308; E-mail: michel.johnson@umoncton.ca.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Literature reports that paramedics represent an at-risk occupation for the development of health problems. At least half of the paramedic population presents at least one risk factor associated with a negative health condition. These reports may suffer a “mono-method bias” where most reported outcomes are based on a single screening tool approach (may attenuate or inflate the prevalence). OBJECTIVE:The current study characterizes the health status of a cohort of twenty-five experienced New Brunswick (Canadian province) paramedics. METHODS:To understand possible limitations of past research, health status was characterized using four different methods: two methods using only one health measure and two were combined methods, integrating outcomes from at least two health measures to determine the prevalence of a given health status. RESULTS:Mono-bias was observed when using the single health measure methods. The difference among the four methods highlighted that a third of the cohort seemed unaware of their health condition. This result shed additional light on paramedics’ health, where a high proportion of paramedics worked without knowledge of their health conditions. Based on a two health measures combined method, it was observed that only two-fifths of the current sample had no health conditions or could otherwise be considered as a “healthy”. CONCLUSIONS:Because the literature has focused on single screening methods, our results were difficult to compare. However, there was a consensus that paramedics represent an at-risk occupation comprised of health problems. This study was exploratory and should be the basis for further research.
Keywords: Mono-method bias, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), cardiovascular diseases
(CVD), post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), paramedic health status
