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Canadian Paramedic Research Day 2025 Abstract
Author:
Sarah Salvis, MSc
Title
The Space Between: Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Workplace Health and Wellbeing Programs for Paramedics, a Scoping Review
Introduction
Paramedic Services are implementing interventions (Peer support, resiliency training, violence prevention initiatives, etc.) to support staff health and wellbeing. However, workers compensation claims and paramedic ill health remain high, pointing to a gap between evidence and practice.
Objective
To identify barriers and facilitators to implementing workplace health and wellbeing programs for paramedics.
Methods
This scoping review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology (population of interest: paramedics, concept: implementation of workplace health and wellbeing initiatives, context: paramedic service organisations). I searched five databases for scholarly and grey literature, screened all records, extracted relevant data, and completed a basic content analysis for barriers, facilitators, and outcomes.
Results
The search yielded 16503 records. After screening, 43 remained. Twenty-five barrier categories and 27 facilitator categories were identified. Barrier categories spoke to, among other things, the impact of patient acuity, absence of organisational support, and inadequate knowledge. Whereas facilitators found the existence of policies, holistically embedded initiatives, and leadership support contributes to implementation success. Many of the categories were reported as both facilitator and barrier, with two unique findings. That is, a hero-based paramedic identity can be an implementation barrier, while aligning initiatives with the broader paramedic culture can be a facilitator. Self-reported perceptions of the intervention were the most frequently noted outcome (44% of records) across 30 different categories.
Conclusions
There is a broad and complicated body of evidence in the space between evidence and practice. Leaders deciding how to implement programs aimed at tackling the health and wellbeing of their paramedic staff may find it challenging to navigate this space. Paramedic Services should collaborate with researchers to optimize outputs. Future research should focus on clarifying how effective health and wellbeing programs can be implemented in paramedic workplaces and what leaders need to know to support both implementation and broader evidence-based decision making.
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