Cabrera Laura Y, Munoz Alejandro, Mehta Ranjana K
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Center for Neural Engineering, and Rock Ethics Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States.
Cabrera Lab, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States.
Front Neuroergon. 2024 Dec 18;5:1491941. doi: 10.3389/fnrgo.2024.1491941. eCollection 2024.
First responders play a pivotal role in ensuring the wellbeing of individuals during critical situations. The demanding nature of their work exposes them to prolonged shifts and unpredictable situations, leading to elevated fatigue levels. Modern countermeasures to fatigue do not provide the best results. This study evaluates the acceptance and ethical considerations of a novel fatigue countermeasure using transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel.
To better understand first responders' perceptions and ethical concerns about this novel fatigue countermeasure in their work, we conducted semi-structured interviews with first responders ( = 20). Interviews were transcribed into text and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Over half of responders (59%) were interested, but over a third had a cautionary stand. Half of the participants seemed to have positive views regarding acceptability; a few were more cautionary or hesitant. A main area of consideration was user control (75%), with the majority wanting to retain some control over when or whether to accept the stimulation. Just above half of the participants (64%) mentioned privacy concerns. Another relevant consideration, raised by 50% of participants, was safety and the potential impact of stimulation (e.g., side effects, long-term effects). Overall, participants thought they needed to understand the system better and agreed that more education and training would be required to make people more willing to use it.
Our exploration into combating fatigue among first responders through tDCS has revealed promising initial reactions from the responder community. Findings from this study lay the groundwork for a promising solution, while still in a nascent design stage, to improve the effectiveness and resilience of first responders in fatiguing shifts and critical situations.
在危急情况下，急救人员在确保个人福祉方面发挥着关键作用。他们工作要求苛刻，需要长时间轮班且面临不可预测的情况，导致疲劳程度不断升高。现有的抗疲劳措施效果不佳。本研究评估了一种使用经颅直流电刺激（tDCS）的新型抗疲劳措施在消防和紧急医疗服务（EMS）人员中的接受度和伦理考量。
为了更好地了解急救人员对这种新型抗疲劳措施在其工作中的看法和伦理担忧，我们对20名急救人员进行了半结构化访谈。访谈内容转录成文本，并使用定性内容分析法进行分析。
超过一半的受访者（59%）感兴趣，但超过三分之一持谨慎态度。一半的参与者对可接受性似乎持积极看法；少数人则更为谨慎或犹豫不决。一个主要的考虑因素是用户控制（75%），大多数人希望对何时或是否接受刺激保留一定控制权。略多于一半的参与者（64%）提到了隐私问题。50%的参与者提出的另一个相关考虑因素是安全性以及刺激的潜在影响（如副作用、长期影响）。总体而言，参与者认为他们需要更好地了解该系统，并同意需要更多的教育和培训，以使人们更愿意使用它。
我们通过tDCS对抗急救人员疲劳的探索揭示了急救人员群体有希望的初步反应。这项研究的结果为一个有前景的解决方案奠定了基础，尽管该方案仍处于初步设计阶段，旨在提高急救人员在疲劳轮班和危急情况下的效能和恢复力。
