Pandemic Influenza: Australian paramedic risk perception study

As front-line health professionals, paramedics will be among the first members of the health community to face exposure during a pandemic event. In Australia, the prehospital workforce has had little experience in working in infectious environments such as an influenza pandemic. Currently, there are limited published studies on the perceptions of the prehospital workforce on pre-event risk, in particular, of paramedics and their partners. A collaborative national and international team led by the Australian Centre for Pre-hospital Research commenced a national study of paramedics and their partners to examine these perceptions. The results of this research will be directed toward the development of responsive health and infection control messages for paramedics and their families. Preliminary analyses highlight some important messages for the prehospital community These messages include that among paramedics, high risk perception is associated with less confidence in the provision of adequate strategies by employers to protect them from exposure, and higher likelihood of being unwilling to work during pandemic conditions. However, knowledge about avian influenza and/or human pandemic influenza does not appear to be associated with employer confidence, levels of concern, or willingness to work in pandemic conditions (OR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.1–3.3). Paramedics report that the information most likely to mitigate their level of perceived risk relates to the confidence in their Personal Protective Equipment and intra/inter-organization communications and alert systems.The results of this study will be described in detail and an analysis will be provided of the strategies that are in place in the Australian emergency prehospital services to respond to these messages