STRESS IN THE WORK OF PARAMEDICS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It caused chaos in public spaces in almost every country, and the public was forced to reorganize their daily functioning. People began to experience severe stress due to the risk of infection from an unexplored and dangerous pathogen. During this specific period, working in health care became extremely difficult. One of the groups particularly exposed to stress factors turned out to be paramedics. Having daily contact with an infected person, they became the first link in the fight against this virus. Therefore, it was extremely important to develop appropriate ways to cope with stress. The following strategies proved to be effective: active coping strategy, learning, and acceptance, understood as acceptance of the situation. A significant factor in mitigating the effects of traumatic events was the ability to respond to stress in a healthy way, which depended on many factors, i.e. personality dispositions, defense mechanisms, and health-promoting behaviors.