Prehospital spirituality: how well do we know ambulance patients?
OBJECTIVE
To assess the religious spirituality of EMS personnel and their perception of the spiritual needs of ambulance patients.


METHODS
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics presenting to an urban, academic emergency department (ED) were asked to complete a three-part survey relating to demographics, personal practices, and perceived patient needs. Their responses were compared to those of ambulance patients presenting to an ED during a previous study period and administered a similar survey.


RESULTS
A total of 143 EMTs and 89 paramedics returned the surveys. There were 161 (69.4%) male and 71 (30.6%) female respondents with a median age range of 26-35 years old. Eighty-seven percent believed in God, 82% practiced prayer or meditation, 62% attended religious services occasionally, 55% belonged to a religious organization, 39% felt that their beliefs affected their job, and 18% regularly read religious material. This was similar to the characteristics of ambulance patients. However, only 43% felt that occasionally ambulance patients presented with spiritual concerns and 78% reported never or rarely discussing spiritual issues with patients. Contrastingly, > 40% of ambulance patients reported spiritual needs or concerns at the time of ED presentation, and > 50% wanted their providers to discuss their beliefs. Twenty-six percent of respondents reported praying or meditating with patients, while 50% reported praying or meditating for patients. Females were no more religious or spiritual than males, but were more likely to engage in prayer with (OR = 2.38, p = 0.0049) or for (OR = 6.45, p < 0.0001) patients than their male counterparts.


CONCLUSIONS
EMTs and paramedics did not perceive spiritual concerns as often as reported by ambulance patients, nor did they commonly inquire about the religious/spiritual needs of patients.
Jang
Timothy
T
Division of Emergency Medicine, Washington University, School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. jangt@msnotes.wustl.edu
Kryder
George D
GD
Char
Douglas
D
Howell
Randy
R
Primrose
Joseph
J
Tan
David
D
D000328:Adult; D000552:Ambulances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004630:Emergencies / Q000523:psychology; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000523:psychology*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000379:methods; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010327:Pastoral Care; D011336:Probability; D012737:Sex Factors; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population