ArticleBMC emergency medicine2026
Exploring violence towards EMS personnel: a multiprofessional qualitative study.
Article in BMC 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.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Reducing workplace violence in emergency medical services: a Finnish Delphi study to develop prevention guidelines.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundViolence against emergency medical service personnel is common and often underreported, with verbal abuse being the most frequent form, but physical and sexual violence also occur. The consequences of such violence range from psychological distress to physical harm and organizational burden. Despite growing evidence of the phenomenon, the dynamic, situational and interactional nature of this violence as well as effective prevention strategies are still insufficiently understood. The objective of this study was to examine factors contributing to violence against EMS personnel before, during and after violent incidents.
methodsThis qualitative study employed two multiprofessional stakeholder workshops (n = 36) conducted in Finland in October 2024. Participants included professionals from the EMS setting and its related fields, as well as patient representatives. The workshops produced experiences and perspectives on violence against EMS personnel, focusing on incident dynamics of violent encounters. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis.
resultsViolence towards EMS personnel presents itself through three interrelated themes: the aggressor, the EMS personnel, and the organization and the EMS system. The findings indicate that these themes interact dynamically, with violent incidents shaped by individual behavior, professional practice and institutional conditions. Aggressor-related factors such as substance use, psychiatric illness, and altered mental states were described as increasing risk for violence. EMS personnel's fatigue, inexperience, and moralizing attitudes were seen to increase vulnerability, whereas resilience and situational awareness were protective. At the organizational level, unclear risk-assessment protocols, inconsistent cooperation with the police, and limited post-incident support emerged as key challenges.
conclusionsViolence against EMS presents itself as a multifactorial and dynamic phenomenon involving aggressor behavior, EMS personnel actions and organizational structures. Embedding de-escalation and disengagement competencies into training, strengthening system-level safeguards and implementing post-incident support are essential. The development of predictive models on how to manage risks at every stage of the EMS mission is warranted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.