Emergency medical service personnel' post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological detachment: The mediating role of presenteeism

BackgroundEmergency medical service personnel are subjected to various stressors, which makes them more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Studies have shown that psychological detachment and presenteeism play a role at the level of post-traumatic stress disorder. There is no study to examine the relationship between psychological detachment, presenteeism, and post-traumatic stress disorder among emergency medical service personnel. ObjectiveThe main objective of the study is to investigate the effects of presenteeism in explaining the relationship between psychological detachment and post-traumatic stress disorder among emergency medical service personnel. DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted among 836 emergency medical service personnel in 51 counties and cities in Hunan Province, China. MethodsThey were anonymously investigated by using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Stanford Presenteeism scale-6 (SPS-6), and the Psychological Detachment Scale. Statistic description, univariate analysis, pearson correlation, and structural equation model were adopted to analyze the data. ResultsThe mean score of IES-R, SPS-6, and the psychological detachment scale were 22.44 +/- 16.70, 15.13 +/- 4.20, and 11.30 +/- 4.24. Post-traumatic stress disorder was positively relevant with presenteeism (r = 0.381, p< 0.01), but negatively correlated with psychological detachment (r = -0.220, p < 0.01). And presenteeism partially mediated the association between psychological detachment and post-traumatic stress disorder. ConclusionsThe results show a high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in EMS personnel, presenteeism can statistically significantly predict post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. If hospital management can reduce the presenteeism of emergency medical service personnel, this will help them reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.