Article Excerpt: Innovative research led by a team of investigators from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medine [sic]—in collaboration with national and local organizations across the U.S.—is showing promise for the development of a digital health app designed to help emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians manage job stress.
EMS clinicians are repeatedly placed in isolated and unpredictable situations with only an ambulance and limited equipment, personnel, and medical oversight to care for patients. These work-related factors put them at higher risk for chronic stress, mental health problem, and substance use.
“We have a lot of stigma surrounding mental health in EMS,” says Enzo Plaitano, a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) at Geisel who has worked as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic for 10 years. “It’s hard to admit that you’re not okay when you’re always supposed to be the one helping other people. This app might be one solution to help support my peers.”
The app being developed by Plaitano and others at Dartmouth will be designed to adapt to near real-time changes in clinicians’ stress and physical environment, prompting them to do self-assessments on their mobile devices to monitor their stress levels.
Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/s2knbah8
Article Source: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine News