Ambulance Workplace Stressors Survey

You are invited to take part in a research project titled Ambulance Workplace Stressors: The Health Impacts on our Ambulance Personnel. It is about the characteristics and effects on psychological and physical health and well-being of employees subjected to stressors within ambulance services. The study aims to partially address a gap in research about how the stressors of working for an ambulance service can affect the well-being of the individuals within the workforce.

If you decide to participate in this research and you wish to follow its progress you can visit www.emergencypersonnelresearch.com and ongoing information about the study will be uploaded frequently. Your individual results can not be tracked as none of the research team can match the results to the participants.

The survey questions will focus on acute stress disorder (ASD) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) traits within ambulance personnel. ALL ambulance staff i.e. Communications Officers, Ambulance Transport Officers and Ambulance Paramedics are invited to complete this survey.

The study is being conducted by Mr Lee Waller and will contribute to the research component of his PhD at Edith Cowan University. If you agree to be involved in the study, you will be directed to a series of questions that will take between 15-20 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. The survey consists of several validated questionnaires focusing on ASD, PTSD, burnout, fatigue and workplace injuries.  

We do not want you to put your name or any identifying information into the survey. Taking part in this study is completely voluntary and you can stop taking part in the study at any time without explanation or prejudice. Please note that once you complete the on-line survey we will be unable to withdraw your data from the study as we will not know which set of responses belongs to you. Completion of the survey will imply that you consent to participating in the research project.

In the event you feel upset or distressed by the survey please feel free to contact Lifeline 24 hour Counselling on 13 11 14, your Employee Assistance Provider, or your health professional (GP/Psychologist). If you know of other ambulance employees who might be interested in this study, please feel free to pass on the on-line link to the survey.

Your anonymous survey responses will be stored at the School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth WA, and on the SurveyMonkey database (secure and password protected). The data from the study will be used in research publications and reports and to support the development of intervention and training programs for organisations aimed at preventing and reducing the incidence of ASD and PTSD prevalence within ambulance services. You will not be identified in any way in these publications.

If you have any further questions about the study, please feel free to contact us on the below details.

Principal Investigator:
Lee Waller
Edith Cowan University
Phone: 0417 995 135
Email: lwaller@our.ecu.edu.au

Supervisor: Dr Peter Roberts 
School: Medical and Health Sciences
Edith Cowan University
Phone: 61 8 6304 5455
Email: p.roberts@ecu.edu.au

Supervisor: Dr Richard Brightwell
School: Medical and Health Sciences
Edith Cowan University
Email: r.brightwell@ecu.edu.au