Article Sidebar
Published:
Apr 12, 2019Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the AJHPE is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The AJHPE does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors. The corresponding author should also indicate if the research forms part of a postgraduate short report, dissertation or thesis.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.Main Article Content
Students’ views on the need for hostile environment awareness training for South African emergency medical care students
Abstract
Background. South Africans experience high levels of contact crime, including assault, robbery and hijacking. Emergency medical services (EMS) are frequently called to the scene of such incidents. Their presence in these potentially hostile environments increases the risk of South African (SA) paramedics and paramedic students becoming victims of crime and violence. A 2015 study showed that ~66% of SA EMS staff reported being assaulted while on duty. During a 10-month period in 2016, Western Cape Province recorded >40 incidents of physical violence against their EMS personnel. Questions are being asked about how well prepared EMS staff are to operate in potentially hostile environments.
Objectives. To explore emergency medical care (EMC) students’ experiences of violence and crime and their views on the need for hostile environment awareness training (HEAT) as part of their undergraduate degree programmes.
Methods. A self-designed, non-validated, cross-sectional online survey questionnaire was used to document the experiences, views and opinions of 113 undergraduate EMC students from 4 SA universities. The questionnaire consisted of 24 closed-ended questions with pre-set Likert scale options focusing on documenting participants’ experiences, views and opinions regarding hostile environments and the need for HEAT.
Results. A high percentage of participants (92%) indicated feeling unsafe while engaging in clinical learning shifts; 63% specified that they had personally witnessed violence against EMS crews, and 32% indicated that they had been assaulted while on duty. Unsurprisingly, 81% of the respondents felt that there is a need for inclusion of HEAT in the undergraduate curriculum.
Conclusions. Participation in clinical learning shifts in the current SA prehospital EMS environment increases the risk of exposure to potentially hostile environments. Consequently, students feel unsafe and support the inclusion of HEAT as part of their undergraduate degree programmes.
