Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
-
This study comprehensively reviewed the literature on the impact of shorter versus longer shifts on critical and important outcomes for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and related shift worker groups. ⋯ The quality of existing evidence on the impact of shift duration on fatigue and fatigue-related risks is low or very low. Despite these limitations, this systematic review suggests that for outcomes considered critical or important to EMS personnel, shifts <24 hours in duration are more favorable than shifts ≥24 hours.
-
Performance measures are a key component of implementation, dissemination, and evaluation of evidence-based guidelines (EBGs). We developed performance measures for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) stakeholders to enable the implementation of guidelines for fatigue risk management in the EMS setting. ⋯ Performance measures for fatigue risk management in the EMS setting will facilitate the implementation and evaluation of the EBG for Fatigue in EMS.
-
Administrators of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operations lack guidance on how to mitigate workplace fatigue, which affects greater than half of all EMS personnel. The primary objective of the Fatigue in EMS Project was to create an evidence-based guideline for fatigue risk management tailored to EMS operations. ⋯ Based on a review of the evidence, the panel developed a guideline with 5 recommendations for fatigue risk management in EMS operations.