Prevalence and risk factors for occupational stress among emergency medical technicians working in prehospital emergency settings in Sindh Pakistan

Prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) are a very stressful and unpredictable environment in which emergency medical technicians (EMT) provide care to patients outside of the hospital. These can lead to high levels of work stress, that can impact on mental health, work function and patient care. Constant exposure can result in emotional exhaustion, anxiety and burn-out. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of occupational stress, cause of occupational stress, and occupational stress and perceived stress among EMTs in the prehospital care setting in Sindh. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 252 participants (EMTs) from Sindh Integrated Emergency & Health Services (SIERHS) Rescue1122 from July to September 2025. The samples of respondents were drawn with convenience sampling, and the participants filled out the Workplace Stress Scale (WPSS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent samples t tests, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used to analyse the data. The average WPSS score was 21.4 ± 3.67. The average PSS score was 22.8 ± 4.1. There was a high positive correlation between the WPSS and PSS scores ( r = 0.62, p < 0.001). Female EMTs had higher scores on the WPSS than did male EMTs (t = 2.34, p = 0.02). Female EMTs also reported higher levels of stress in the workplace than male EMTs (t = 2.34, p = 0.02), with younger, and less experienced EMTs, reporting higher levels of stress. The regression analysis revealed that number of work hours per week, number of calls handled per shift and female sex significantly influenced occupational stress and age and marital status were not significant. Occupational stress is common among EMTs in Sindh and the factors that are associated with occupational stress among them are workload, call volume and gender. The results highlight the importance of organizational interventions, stress management practices, and supportive policies in improving the well-being of EMTs and quality of emergency care provision.