Journal Article

Association between workload and support utilisation - a longitudinal study on emergency medical service personnel

Vang, Maria Louison, Melander-Nyboe, Pernille, Andersen, Lars Peter Sønderbo, Lindekilde, Nanna, Elklit, Ask, Pihl-Thingvad, Jesper

2026

Overview

Background Social support is a key protective factor against mental illness. Yet, qualitative studies have suggested that emergency medical service (EMS) personnel working in ambulance contexts underutilise workplace-provided social support. Although a possible barrier to seeking support, no previous quantitative study has examined workload’s association with support utilisation in high-strain emergency settings. This study assesses the longitudinal association between EMS personnel’s workload and utilisation of workplace-provided formal support in an ambulance context. Methods 703 personnel from a Danish EMS organisation were invited to participate in the study. The survey data were collected from 2022 to 2023 over five survey rounds. Survey data were combined with organisational records of emergency responses from the same period, providing a measure of workload at a station level. Logistic mixed models were performed to assess associations between workload, measured by number of emergency responses, and formal support utilisation. Main analyses were performed using R-Studio (version 4.4.2). Results Of the 703 invited personnel, 341 participated in repeated survey rounds. At the final wave, 642 employees were eligible, corresponding to a response rate of 53.2% of possible participants at final wave. 82.1% of the participants were male, and 17.8% were female. The mean age of the participants was 42.13 years. EMS personnel at higher-workload stations were more likely to use support than those at lower-workload stations (OR = 2.03, CI = 1.26; 3.35). This effect persisted after adjusting for age, gender, workplace social capital, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and time effect (OR = 1.93, CI = 1.12; 3.35). Conclusion This is the first study examining EMS personnel’s workload and social support utilisation in a longitudinal design. Contrasting qualitative findings, this study presents evidence of greater support utilisation under higher workload. With reference to the Conservation of Resources Theory, the results could reflect a need to conserve resources under pressure, and underline the importance of accessible support in high-risk occupations.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Coping / Emergency medical service personnel / Emergency medical services / Emergency Medicine / Emergency services / First responders / Help seeking / Help seeking behavior / Job stress / Longitudinal studies / Medical care / Medical personnel / Medical research / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Medicine, Experimental / Mental disorders / Mental health / Mental illness / Post traumatic stress disorder / Post-traumatic stress / Qualitative research / Social aspects / Social interactions / Social support / Surveys / Utilization / Workers / Workload / Workloads