Common Mental Health Symptoms in Personnel Working in Helicopter Emergency Medical Services: A Systematic Review

Q3 Nursing

Air Medical Journal Pub Date : 2025-07-14 DOI:10.1016/j.amj.2025.06.019

Karina Damsgaard MSc , Pernille Melander-Nyboe MSc , Jesper Pihl-Thingvad MSc, PhD , Jacob Steinmetz MD, PhD , Tine Bennedsen Gehrt MSc, PhD

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) personnel regularly respond to severe and life-threatening situations, often involving critically ill or injured patients. Yet limited research exists on their mental health outcomes compared with ground-based emergency medical services (EMS). This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence on mental health symptoms among HEMS personnel, focusing on prevalence rates and key psychological outcomes.

Methods

A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus identified original, quantitative studies in English or Scandinavian languages. Studies were included if they reported on at least 1 mental health outcome of interest in HEMS personnel. Study quality was rated using criteria adapted from the National Institute of Health’s Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.

Results

From 987 identified articles, 33 full texts were screened, and 9 studies were included, comprising 1 longitudinal and 8 cross-sectional designs. Six studies were rated as being fair quality, 2 as good, and 1 as poor. Outcomes evaluated included depression (5 studies), stress (5 studies), post-traumatic stress disorder/symptoms (PTSD; 3 studies), burnout (3 studies), anxiety (2 studies), secondary traumatic stress (1 study), and compassion fatigue (1 study). Across all studies, HEMS personnel reported low prevalence rates for mental health symptoms. However, burnout and depression were more frequently highlighted as concerns than PTSD.

Conclusion

Despite regular exposure to traumatic stressors, HEMS personnel report low levels of stress, PTSD, anxiety, and secondary traumatic stress, whereas burnout and depression had slightly higher levels, suggesting the need for targeted preventive interventions and support mechanisms within HEMS environments.

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直升机紧急医疗服务人员常见心理健康症状的系统回顾

直升机紧急医疗服务（HEMS）人员经常应对严重和危及生命的情况，通常涉及危重病人或受伤病人。然而，与地面紧急医疗服务（EMS）相比，他们的心理健康结果研究有限。本系统综述综合了医疗急救人员心理健康症状的经验证据，重点关注患病率和主要心理结果。方法系统检索PubMed、PsycINFO和Scopus，确定英语或斯堪的纳维亚语言的原始定量研究。如果研究报告了至少一项HEMS人员感兴趣的心理健康结果，则纳入研究。研究质量的评定采用的标准改编自美国国立卫生研究院的观察性队列和横断面研究质量评估工具。结果从987篇确定的文章中，筛选了33篇全文，纳入了9项研究，包括1项纵向设计和8项横断面设计。6项研究被评为质量一般，2项为良好，1项为差。评估的结果包括抑郁（5项研究）、压力（5项研究）、创伤后应激障碍/症状（PTSD； 3项研究）、倦怠（3项研究）、焦虑（2项研究）、继发性创伤应激（1项研究）和同情疲劳（1项研究）。在所有研究中，医疗急救人员报告的精神健康症状患病率较低。然而，与创伤后应激障碍相比，倦怠和抑郁更常被强调为担忧。结论尽管经常暴露于创伤应激源，但HEMS人员的应激、PTSD、焦虑和继发性创伤应激水平较低，而倦怠和抑郁水平略高，提示HEMS环境中需要有针对性的预防干预和支持机制。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Air Medical Journal Nursing-Emergency Nursing

CiteScore

1.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

112

审稿时长

69 days

期刊介绍： Air Medical Journal is the official journal of the five leading air medical transport associations in the United States. AMJ is the premier provider of information for the medical transport industry, addressing the unique concerns of medical transport physicians, nurses, pilots, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, communication specialists, and program administrators. The journal contains practical how-to articles, debates on controversial industry issues, legislative updates, case studies, and peer-reviewed original research articles covering all aspects of the medical transport profession.