NIOSH Continues Research to Improve Safety for Ambulance Service Workers and EMS Responders |
As part of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) set out to reduce ambulance crash–related injuries and deaths among EMS workers. Research addressed the layout and structural integrity of ambulance compartments, design of hardware, and occupant restraints.
NIOSH research revealed a number of important factors involved in ambulance worker injuries and deaths. For example, field investigators observed that EMS workers often ride on the squad bench without wearing a restraint. This allows them to lean forward, stand up, or change positions as needed to reach the patient or equipment, but places them at higher risk of striking bulkheads, cabinets, shelves, or other occupants during a crash. NIOSH crash tests also revealed the possibility of head injury if a worker’s head strikes the cabinets immediately above or behind them, and noted that vehicle structural failures can be a contributing factor in adverse outcomes of EMS crashes.
Impact
In 2007 NIOSH partnered with the Ambulance Manufacturers Division of
the National Truck Equipment Association (AMD-NTEA) and the General
Services Administration (GSA) to revise the GSA ambulance purchase
specification and the companion AMD-NTEA test standards. This included
increasing the head clearance for EMS workers above the seating
positions, eliminating a significant source of head injury. NIOSH also
worked with AMD-NTEA to establish a new crash test methodology Technical
Committee. The committee used NIOSH research to develop a
cost-effective test procedure to evaluate how components (seats, cot,
equipment mounts) in a patient compartment would withstand a 30 mph
frontal impact. This test procedure was published by the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) in May of 2010 as a recommended practice, and
is already being used within the industry to improve ambulance seating
and restraints. The team has developed a companion document covering
vehicle response in side impact events, which SAE is expected to publish
in late Summer 2011. The long-term goal is to bring ambulance patient
compartments up to the same level of safety found in passenger vehicles.
NIOSH researchers continue to work with AMD-NTEA, GSA, manufacturers,
and federal agencies on other recommendations to improve occupational
safety for EMS workers. Ongoing efforts include creating and validating
individual standards for seating and worker restraints, litter and
patient restraints, and equipment mounting. These research-to-practice
measures and collaborative efforts will improve the safety of EMS crew
members in their mission to save the lives of others.
Relevant Information
- About 218,000 emergency medical technicians and paramedics were employed in 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.4
- Between 500,000–800,000 workers are estimated to volunteer as emergency medical technicians or paramedics in addition to the 218,000 employed personnel. These figures do not include the many additional firefighters who are also trained in emergency medical services.
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