Madison Melton - Department of Emergency Medicine
Fatigue can be a major issue for shift workers, impacting productivity, quality of work, and personal health and well-being. Industries like trucking and commercial aviation have established mandatory fatigue education and awareness training programs for their employees. However, this practice is not yet common in other fields, such as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and healthcare, where fatigue can cause real harm to patients.
This paper conducted a systematic literature review guided by the following question, “In EMS personnel, does fatigue training and education mitigate fatigue, mitigate fatigue-related risks, and/or improve sleep?” [1]. Important education components included topics like sleep and circadian rhythms, improving sleep environment and schedule, using caffeine and other strategies to combat fatigue, and even mindfulness and behavioral health. Outcomes considered in the results were “personnel safety, patient safety, personnel performance, acute fatigue, indicators of sleep duration and quality, indicators of long-term health (e.g., cardiovascular disease), and burnout/stress” [1]. Additionally, a meta-analysis was used to determine if there was an improved quality of sleep after the training.
Results from 18 different studies showed that fatigue training “improved patient safety, personal safety, and ratings of acute fatigue and reduced stress and burnout”, while a ”meta-analysis of five studies showed improvement in sleep quality” [1]. These results provided promising evidence of the benefits of fatigue training and sleep education for EMS and shift workers.
However, there were some limitations to this study, including low quality of evidence, a lack of randomized trials and standardized settings, and substantial variability in the content and duration of the programs studied. It is recommended that further research be conducted to determine the most beneficial components of fatigue training programs and to better understand and quantify their effects.
References:
Barger LK, Runyon MS, Renn ML, et al. Effect of Fatigue Training on Safety, Fatigue, and Sleep in Emergency Medical Services Personnel and Other Shift Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Prehospital Emergency Care. 2018;22(sup1):58-68. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2017.1362087
Edited by Aarti Palaniappan - Explorative Section Editor
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