Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41792612›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of emergency medicine2026

Psychological distress among emergency medical services personnel: implications for public health preparedness and system resilience.

Yasir Almukhlifi, Juan Gómez-Salgado, Maher Alsulami, Arwa Khalid Alhamdan, Shahad Dhafer Alharthi, Yara Sultan Alharbi, Faisal Aseeri, Waad Alsulami, Mariam Barnawy, Krzysztof Goniewicz

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Article in International journal of emergency medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yasir AlmukhlifiCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Yasir.Almukhlifi@gmail.com.
Juan Gómez-SalgadoDepartment of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Faculty of Labour Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva, 21007, Spain.
Maher AlsulamiCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Arwa Khalid AlhamdanCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Shahad Dhafer AlharthiCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Yara Sultan AlharbiCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Faisal AseeriCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Waad AlsulamiCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mariam BarnawyCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Krzysztof GoniewiczDepartment of Security, Polish Air Force University, Deblin, Poland. k.goniewicz@law.mil.pl.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionEmergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel are integral to disaster and emergency response systems. Recurrent exposure to high-acuity incidents, irregular shifts, and operational pressures may increase vulnerability to psychological distress, with potential implications for workforce sustainability and system resilience. This study assessed the severity distribution and predictors of stress, anxiety, and depression among EMS personnel in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia.

methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and April 2024 among certified EMS professionals employed for > 1 year across the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. Participants (n = 352) completed an electronic questionnaire including sociodemographic and lifestyle variables and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and logistic and multivariate linear regression. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

resultsThe proportions classified as extremely severe were 12.2% for stress, 23.0% for anxiety, and 17.6% for depression. In bivariate analyses, history of mental illness was associated with higher stress, anxiety, and depression scores; however, in logistic regression it remained significant only for depression. In multivariate linear models, use of medications for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) was positively associated with stress, anxiety, and depression, whereas longer sleep duration was inversely associated with all outcomes. Years of professional experience significantly predicted stress levels.

conclusionEMS personnel in the Makkah region demonstrated a substantial burden of clinically significant psychological distress, particularly for severe anxiety and depression. Sleep duration and NCD medication use emerged as consistent correlates across outcomes, indicating potential targets for occupational health strategies. Differences in estimates compared with other Saudi studies should be interpreted cautiously due to variation in populations, instruments, cut-offs, and study periods.

Indexed as

AnxietyDepressive disorderDisaster planningEmergency medical servicesEmergency Medical TechniciansOccupational healthPublic health preparednessResilienceStress, psychological

Identifiers

PMID41792612
PMCPMC13001209

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.