Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Review Meta Analysis
Effect of Fatigue Training on Safety, Fatigue, and Sleep in Emergency Medical Services Personnel and Other Shift Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Fatigue training may be an effective way to mitigate fatigue-related risk. We aimed to critically review and synthesize existing literature on the impact of fatigue training on fatigue-related outcomes for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and similar shift worker groups. ⋯ Reviewed literature indicated that fatigue training improved safety and health outcomes in shift workers. Further research is required to identify the optimal components of fatigue training programs to maximize the beneficial outcomes.
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Modifying the task load of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel may mitigate fatigue, sleep quality and fatigue related risks. A review of the literature addressing task load interventions may benefit EMS administrators as they craft policies related to mitigating fatigue. We conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature to address the following question: "In EMS personnel, do task load interventions mitigate fatigue, mitigate fatigue-related risks, and/or improve sleep?" (PROSPERO 2016:CRD42016040114). ⋯ The effect of task load interventions on fatigue, fatigue-related risks, and/or sleep quality was not estimable and the overall quality of evidence was judged low or very low. There was considerable heterogeneity in how task load was defined and measured.