Pre-hospital Emergency Service Challenges in the Face of the COVID-۱۹ Pandemic in Iran

Objective: With the outbreak of coronavirus disease ۲۰۱۹ (COVID-۱۹), the workload of theIran’s health-care system along with the Pre-hospital Emergency Service (PHES) increasedsignificantly so that Iranian fledgling emergency system had never experienced such a crisis.With regard to the importance of the function of PHES as the front-line staff of Iran’s healthsystem and its role in controlling the recent epidemic crisis, this study was conducted to identifythe challenges of PHES function in the face of COVID-۱۹ pandemic.Methods: The study was conducted with qualitative approach through content analysis in۲۰۲۱. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Sampling was purposive andcontinued until data saturation. After ۲۴ interviews, the data were saturated. The extractedcodes were thoroughly prepared as a data pool. After encoding all available data, the relatedcodes were categorized into a single theme. After extracting the themes, a network of themes,related to the research topic, was drawn, and then, the relationship between the themes wasanalyzed.Results: Data analysis undertaken for the qualitative study resulted in the identification of ۴main themes included: challenges related to facilities and equipment, living with uncertainty,professional and organizational capabilities, and burnout.Conclusions: PHES personnel have an important and key role in providing care to patientsduring COVID-۱۹ epidemic period. Individual and systemic challenges were among the mostimportant issues in the experiences of these personnel. These challenges require organizationalplanning and special attention of health policy-makers to maintain the staff’s physical andmental health during the pandemic and the possible crises ahead.

کلیدواژه ها:

Pre-hospital emergency service (PHES) ، COVID-۱۹ ، \ Iran