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Stress and salivary cortisol in emergency medical dispatchers: A randomized shifts control trial

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  • Sarah Bedini
  • François Braun
  • Laurence Weibel
  • Michel Aussedat
  • Bruno Pereira
  • Frédéric Dutheil

Abstract

Stress at work is a public health concern. Phone operators in emergency medical dispatch centers are particularly at risk. We aimed to demonstrate that the most stressful time for emergency medical dispatchers is the shift when they receive emergency incoming calls, with cortisol as a biomarker of stress. For each emergency medical dispatcher, we measured outcomes over a control day and during three types of shift: Incoming emergency call, Dispatch and Re-assessment. The pattern of shifts was randomized. Saliva was sampled every 15 minutes for 2 hours, i.e. 6 consecutive times, starting 15 minutes after the first life-and-death incoming emergency call between 2 and 5 pm during three types of shift. We measured saliva cortisol every 2 hours over a control day, from 7am to 9pm. Perceived stress was assessed by a visual analog scale. We recruited 22 phone operators aged 36.4+/-10.8 years old (14 women and 8 men). Cortisol values were higher during the Incoming emergency call shift than during the Dispatch (p = .04) and Re-assessment (p = .04) shifts. The increase in cortisol levels was greater in men than in women (p = .009). There were no differences between control values and those of the three shifts. The kinetics of cortisol increased with greater perceived stress overall (p

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Bedini & François Braun & Laurence Weibel & Michel Aussedat & Bruno Pereira & Frédéric Dutheil, 2017. "Stress and salivary cortisol in emergency medical dispatchers: A randomized shifts control trial," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0177094
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177094
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sophie Béjean & Hélène Sultan-Taïeb, 2005. "Modeling the economic burden of diseases imputable to stress at work," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 6(1), pages 16-23, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Pérez-Valdecantos & Alberto Caballero-García & Teodosia Del Castillo-Sanz & Hugo J. Bello & Enrique Roche & Alfredo Córdova, 2021. "Stress Salivary Biomarkers Variation during the Work Day in Emergencies in Healthcare Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Małgorzata Wojciechowska & Aleksandra Jasielska & Michał Ziarko & Michał Sieński & Maciej Różewicki, 2021. "Mediating Role of Stress at Work in the Relationship of Alexithymia and PTSD among Emergency Call Operators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-11, December.

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