Perceptions of pre-hospital emergency personnel regarding trauma patient care.

BACKGROUND

Providing care to trauma patients in pre-hospital emergencies is a vital and life-sustaining factor for individuals. This study was conducted to percept of pre-hospital emergency personnel regarding trauma patient care.

METHODS

This qualitative study was done using a conventional content analysis method that employed purposive sampling technique. A total of 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 operational staff members of pre-hospital emergency services from May 2021 to September 2022. After recording and transcribing the data, qualitative content analysis, based on Graneheim and Lundman's approach, was performed on the data.

RESULTS

From the data analysis, a total of 478 initial codes were extracted, leading to the identification of two main categories, namely "Stress as an Unavoidable Factor" and "Emotional Impasse". The first category included three sub-categories of work under stress, associating your family in the face of life-threatening conditions, and worrying about the patient's fate. Three sub-categories of a long-term mental occupation of the technician with the encounter scene, the feeling of guilt despite trying as much as possible, and emotional distress in certain groups emerged from the second category.

CONCLUSIONS

"Stress as an Unavoidable Factor" and "Emotional Impasse" have been introduced as main categories of perceptions of pre-hospital emergency personnel regarding trauma patient care.