How has COVID-19 affected the overall health of Ambulance Dispatchers in the Health Care setting?

Impact of COVID 19 on the overall Health of Ambulance Dispatchers in the Health Care Setting
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Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Emergency Response Services (EMS) or ambulance services provide medical transport and medical care to patients in need of emergency services (Golding et al., 2020). Every country has its unique way of designing and operating EMS. Generally, an EMS system ambulance requests through a central emergency telephone number (Jaffe et al., 2020). Individuals receiving those emergency and non-emergency calls in the healthcare facility are called ambulance dispatchers. They take enough information from the caller to coordinate emergency services required.
In a healthcare setting, Golding et al. (2020) defined an ambulance dispatcher as a person employed by a healthcare organization to dispatch a designated emergency ambulance service. The EMS medical director authorizes these individuals according to the policy of the EMS services. Their work is based heavily on answering telephone calls. However, they can also decide the appropriate emergency response according to the healthcare organization's policies and procedures (La et al., 2020).
Additionally, they transmit information to the appropriate emergency service agency, coordinate sending emergency response personnel, and monitor the status of an assigned ambulance or emergency team (Mhango et al., 2020). More often, ambulance dispatchers are allowed to instruct the caller on what to do while the emergency team is on the way. Some of them are trained to provide medical help through the phone. For instance, they can help the caller with first aid tips until the emergency medical team arrives.
With the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, ambulance dispatchers are finding the work to be tiresome and stressful because they have to work round the clock to respond to people in need of emergency services. Most affected countries have been issued a stay-at-home order and allowed only to leave in case of an emergency. The governments have also provided a helpline where people can call for emergency help if they suspect a COVID-19 case. Health ambulance dispatchers operate these calls.
Although they contribute hugely to fighting COVID-19 pandemic, the overall health of these professionals is being affected by the increased spread of the epidemic. This study aims to find out how the COVID-19 affects the overall health of ambulance dispatchers in the healthcare setting, with a focus on the Parry Sound District healthcare facility.
1.2 Scope and Objectives of the Study
The primary objective of this study is to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the overall health of ambulance dispatchers in the Parry Sound District Healthcare facility. The study also aims to provide the possible resources and solutions needed by ambulance dispatchers to address the health problems caused by this pandemic. The study addresses the mental health problem faced by ambulance dispatchers in the healthcare setting as they continue to respond to emerging cases of COVID-19.
1.3 Research Questions
* How has COVID-19 affected the overall health of ambulance dispatchers in the health care setting?
* How has COVID-19 changed the lives of ambulance dispatchers when dealing with their health?
* What challenges do ambulance dispatchers face when dealing with their health during COVID-19?
1.4 Problem Statement
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and the epidemic has spread throughout the world (Ng et al., 2020). Today, there are more than 11.2 million confirmed cases, and over 528,000 deaths worldwide (Sim, 2020). In Ontario, Canada, where this study was based, there are more than 35,656 confirmed cases according to the CTV News Toronto. As the number of patients with COVID-19 continues to increase, the health system is on the verge of collapsing.
Reports show that some of the health care providers have succumbed to COVID-19, while others have been infected with the virus. Some even fear to care for the patients suspected to have COVOD-19. Those in the emergency response department are also becoming fearful. Simply put, COVID-19 has instilled fear in every individual, including the professionals in the healthcare facility. In this context, healthcare systems like intensive care and emergency medicine unit at particular risk.
As Canada's healthcare system is under universal coverage, the EMS system, such as ambulance service, is also operated entirely by the public sector. Parry Sound District ambulance service is no exemption. It addresses many emergency issues raised by the public, and ambulance dispatchers are working tirelessly to ensure that every aspect is addressed to help contain the virus.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study will create awareness of the health challenges faced by ambulance dispatchers in responding to COVID-19 cases. Most affected countries have implemented a temporary lockdown and cessation of movement to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As a result, many sectors, including health sectors, are experiencing a shortage of nurses as ambulance dispatchers since they have to work in shifts to avoid congestion. This study is significant to scholars, healthcare providers, the government, and the public.
The government will know that COVID-19 is affecting the mental health of ambulance dispatchers. Through the study, the government will be encouraged to develop a better plan to reduce the psychological problems experienced by ambulance dispatchers. The research will also help the public to understand this problem. Doing so will increase cooperation between ambulance dispatchers and the public, thus creating a friendly environment for the dispatchers to respond to their emergencies.
Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
COVID-19 threats have influenced EMS to respond in a timely and effective way. Although the healthcare setting has tried to respond quickly to the cases, little is known that the individuals in this department are experiencing a lot of health difficulties due to COVID-19. This chapter provides a review of how the COVID-19 has affected the overall health of ambulance dispatchers in the health care setting.
2.2 Effect of COVID-19 on the Health of Ambulatory Dispatchers
COVID 19 has affected the mental health of ambulatory dispatchers in many ways. As noted earlier, ambulatory dispatchers work at the call center. Their work is to receive calls, determine the calls' priority, make decisions about dispatch, and relocations, and record information of cases (Thi Nguyen, 2020). Ambulance dispatchers rely on general guidelines, their judgment, and experiences to make operational decisions.
With the increase in COVID-19, ambulance dispatchers are forced to work hard to respond to COVID-19 cases they receive frequently. Their offices are full of calls, most of which are emergency calls for COVID-19. Research shows that many ambulance responders spend sleepless nights because they have to be available for emergency calls (Golding et al., 2020). This affects their psychological health as they lack enough time for sleep, exercise, and social activity.
Some of the individuals have reported that they ofte...