Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Zabol Pre-hospital Emergency Center, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran

2 Department of Medical Surgical, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran

3 Amiralmomenin Ali Hospital, Intencive care Unit, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran

Abstract

Objective: Pre-hospital emergency staff are involved in the front line of care for COVID-19 patients and face many challenges. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges of prehospital emergency staff in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This qualitative research was conducted with a descriptive phenomenological approach. Purposeful sampling was applied and data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. Participants consisted of 16 pre-hospital emergency staff. Data analysis was performed using the Colaizzi approach.
Results: Data analysis revealed five main themes including safety against COVID-19, knowledge deficit, fear and worry, challenges of transporting patients to the hospital, and selflessness.
Conclusion: Pre-hospital emergency staff face many problems in personal, professional, equipment and cultural fields in the COVID-19 epidemic. In this regard, special attention from health systems is mandatory.

Keywords

Main Subjects

1. Gorbalenya AE, Baker SC, Baric R, Groot RJ, Drosten C, Gulyaeva AA, et al. The species severe acute respiratory
syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nat Microbiol 2020; 5(4): 536-44.
doi: 10.1038/s41564-020-0695-z.
2. Adhikari SP, Meng S, Wu YJ, Mao YP, Ye RX, Wang QZ, et al. Epidemiology, causes, clinical manifestation and diagnosis, prevention and control of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the early outbreak period: a scoping
review. Infect Dis Poverty 2020; 9(1): 29. doi: 10.1186/
s40249-020-00646-x.
3. Mehmood A, Rowther AA, Kobusingye O, Hyder AA. Assessment of pre-hospital emergency medical services in
low-income settings using a health systems approach. Int J Emerg Med 2018; 11(1): 53. doi: 10.1186/s12245-018-0207-6.
4. Suryanto, Plummer V, Boyle M. EMS systems in lower-middle income countries: a literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med 2017; 32(1): 64-70. doi: 10.1017/s1049023x1600114x.
5. Boyle S. United Kingdom (England): health system review. Health Syst Transit 2011; 13(1): 1-483.
6. Reimer AP. Prehospital and transport nursing: the next 50 years. J Emerg Nurs 2020; 46(1): 8-11. doi: 10.1016/j.
jen.2019.11.008.
7. Heydari H, Kamran A, Zali ME, Novinmehr N, Safari M. Customers’ satisfaction about prehospital emergency
medical services in Lorestan, Iran. Electron Physician 2017; 9(3): 3974-9. doi: 10.19082/3974.
8. Bohström D, Carlström E, Sjöström N. Managing stress in prehospital care: strategies used by ambulance nurses. Int
Emerg Nurs 2017; 32: 28-33. doi: 10.1016/j.ienj.2016.08.004.
9. Mohammadi M, Firouzkouhi M, Abdollahimohammad A. Experiences of pre-hospital emergency personals in road
traffic injuries of south-east of Iran: qualitative research. Prensa Med Argent 2018; 104(5): 1-6. doi: 10.41720032-
745X.1000310.
10. Piri F, Firouzkouhi M, Abdollahimohammad A, Mirzaiepour M. Exploring pemphigus challenges based on the patient experiences: a descriptive phenomenological research. Presna Med Argent 2018; 104(1): 2-5.
11. Larkin M, Shaw R, Flowers P. Multiperspectival designs and processes in interpretative phenomenological analysis
research. Qual Res Psychol 2019; 16(2): 182-98. doi:10.1080/14780887.2018.1540655.
12. Northall T, Chang E, Hatcher D, Nicholls D. The application and tailoring of Colaizzi’s phenomenological approach in a hospital setting. Nurse Res 2020; 28(2): 20-5. doi: 10.7748/nr.2020.e1700.
13. Johnson JL, Adkins D, Chauvin S. A review of the quality indicators of rigor in qualitative research. Am J Pharm Educ 2020; 84(1): 7120. doi: 10.5688/ajpe7120.
14. Khankeh HR, Khorasani-Zavareh D, Johanson E, Mohammadi R, Ahmadi F, Mohammadi R. Disaster healthrelated
challenges and requirements: a grounded theory study in Iran. Prehosp Disaster Med 2011; 26(3): 151-8. doi:
10.1017/s1049023x11006200.
15. Hosseinikia SH, Zarei S, Najafi Kalyani M, Tahamtan S. A cross-sectional multicenter study of workplace violence
against prehospital emergency medical technicians. Emerg Med Int 2018; 2018: 7835676. doi: 10.1155/2018/7835676.
16. Ahmadi M, Fayazi S, Poormansouri S. Associated factors with safety principles precaution of working with chemotherapeutic agents among Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences nursing staff. Iran Occup Health 2015;
12(2): 101-12.[Persian].
17. Howard N, Woodward A, Patel D, Shafi A, Oddy L, ter Veen A, et al. Perspectives on reproductive healthcare delivered through a basic package of health services in Afghanistan: a qualitative study. BMC Health Serv Res 2014; 14: 359. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-359.].
18. Stefaniuk T. Training in shaping employee information security awareness. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
Issues 2020; 7(3): 1832-46. doi: 10.9770/jesi.2020.7.3(26).
19. Powell-Jackson T, King JJC, Makungu C, Spieker N, Woodd S, Risha P, et al. Infection prevention and control compliance in Tanzanian outpatient facilities: a cross-sectional study with implications for the control of COVID-19. Lancet Glob Health 2020; 8(6): e780-e9. doi: 10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30222-9.
20. Gordon RM. Psychodynamic distance training and treatment: the China American Psychoanalytic Alliance
research. Psychoanal Inq 2020; 40(1): 56-63. doi:10.1080/07351690.2020.1700742.
21. Zheng W. Mental health and a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China. J Affect Disord 2020; 269: 201-2. doi:
10.1016/j.jad.2020.03.041.
22. Davis JS, Graygo J, Augenstein J, Schulman CI. Prehospital information for optimal patient care. Am Surg 2013; 79(4): 441-3. doi: 10.1177/000313481307900438.
23. Iranmanesh S, Tirgari B, Sheikh Bardsiri H. Post-traumatic stress disorder among paramedic and hospital emergency
personnel in south-east Iran. World J Emerg Med 2013; 4(1): 26-31. doi: 10.5847/wjem.j.issn.1920-8642.2013.01.005.
24. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. Interim guidance for emergency medical services (EMS)
systems and 911 public safety answering points (PSAPs) for COVID-19 in the United States. Atlanta, GA. Available
from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-for-ems. Accessed February 25, 2020.
25. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Hospital Preparedness Program. 2016. 2017–2022 Health care
preparedness and response capabilities. Washington,DC. Available from: https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/Documents/2017-2022-healthcarepr-capablities.pdf. Accessed February 25, 2020.
26. Wax RS, Christian MD. Practical recommendations for critical care and anesthesiology teams caring for novel
coronavirus (2019-nCoV) patients. Can J Anaesth 2020;67(5): 568-76. doi: 10.1007/s12630-020-01591-x.
27. Ebrahimian A, Khalesi N, Mohamadi G, Tordeh M, Naghipour M. Transportation management in pre-hospital
emergency whit physiological early warning scores. J Health Adm 2012; 15(49): 7-13. [Persian].
28. Torabi M, Borhani F, Abbaszadeh A, Atashzadeh-Shoorideh F. Experiences of pre-hospital emergency medical personnel in ethical decision-making: a qualitative study. BMC Med Ethics 2018; 19(1): 95. doi:10.1186/s12910-018-0334-x.
29. Raee Z, Abedi H, Shahriari M. Nurses’ commitment to respecting patient dignity. J Educ Health Promot 2017; 6:
16. doi: 10.4103/2277-9531.204743.
30. Ebrahimian A, Seyedin H, Jamshidi-Orak R, Masoumi G. Exploring factors affecting emergency medical services
staffs’ decision about transporting medical patients to medical facilities. Emerg Med Int 2014; 2014: 215329. doi:
10.1155/2014/215329.