Effect of selected factors related to emotions and general health on the health behaviours of paramedics

ABSTRACT

Introduction and Objective. Lifestyle and its related health behaviour are significant factors affecting health. The aim of this study was to define a selection of factors influencing the health behaviour of paramedics from the Masovian Province, the biggest in Poland. Materials and method. The study group consisted of paramedics employed in Emergency Response Teams (ERT) on the territory of Masovian Province. The study involved 238 participants: 223 men and 15 women. The mean age of the participants was 39.03±9.27 years for males, and 31.93±7.76 years for females. The research was carried out between May 2019 – September 2019 using the diagnostic survey method, including Jurczyński’s Health Behaviour Inventory (HBI), Courtauld’s Emotional Control Scale (CECS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Results. The health behaviours of the participants were defined as average. The probability of exhibiting proper health behaviours increases with age (OR=2.178, 95% Cl 1.030–4.604;p 0,042), the ability to control emotions, especially on the depressive mood scale, (OR=0.901, 95% Cl 0.827–0.981;p 0.017) and the general health condition, i.e., the less anxiety or insomnia the participating paramedics experience, the higher the chance of them exhibiting proper health behaviours (OR =0.809, 95% Cl 0.725–0.903;p 0.000) or not experiencing social dysfunction (OR=0.760, 95% Cl 0.628–0.920;p 0.005). Conclusions. As an occupational group, paramedics require help from their employers and other specialists in the fostering of proper health behaviour in order to experience a good quality of life in the workplace and beyond. Educative measures have to be undertaken in the paramedic population, especially with regard to ameliorating eating habits, handling stress, burnout prophylaxis, and counteracting musculo-skeletal disorders.