A critical look at behaviour change

Paramedics and emergency care workers are regularly exposed to high levels of stress, which may lead to decreased wellbeing and poorer physical and mental health if not effectively managed.

In healthcare currently, there is an increased awareness and investment in preventive measures, as well as in social prescribing, and lifestyle interventions in favour of what had become our conventional reliance on pharmacological approaches, followed by, more recently, an increase in non-pharmacological treatment options. However, when considering the mental health of paramedics, ambulance staff and emergency care personnel, recognition is growing, and support measures are increasingly being implemented, but often approaches are still largely reactive, rather than also being preventive.

In the current issue of the Journal of Paramedic Practice, Hutchinson et al explore the role of health behaviours and lifestyle in ambulance workers (p. 367). The evidence related to this population's lifestyle, health and wellbeing, and thus preventive interventions, is currently lacking as the authors highlight. It is however an area that warrants further attention and there is reason to believe that mental and physical health outcomes in emergency care workers and prehospital care providers could be improved with the development of evidence-based preventive lifestyle interventions.