Exploring the Challenges of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in COVID-19 Pandemic: A qualitative study

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the challenges and experiences of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

Design: Qualitative study

Setting: Prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Iran.

Participants: 15 Prehospital Emergency personnel were invited to participate. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted between Januarys to March 2021.

Results: Themes relating to challenges of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in COVID – 19 were: Lack of preparedness of EMS for the pandemic, shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), psychological distress and negative emotions, shortage of staff and challenges associated with delivering care for patients using PPE.

Conclusions: The current study found that Health Care Workers (HCWs) in the prehospital emergency field had multiple challenges in caring for their patients during COVID-19. Therefore, they are vulnerable in this situation. These challenges must be addressed in order to protect them in pandemics.