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Workforce & wellbeing
Gender gaps in Nordic EMS workplace
Fitting in or standing out: a scoping review of gender-related findings in Nordic EMS through an organizational socialization lens
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine · Added 18 August 2026
Scoping review of gender-related findings in Nordic EMS found women reported higher physical and psychosocial work demands, greater concerns about violence, and higher levels of mental health problems and sleep disturbances compared to male colleagues.
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Design
- Scoping review (JBI/PRISMA-ScR)
- Participants
- 7 peer-reviewed studies and 5 master's theses, 2010-2025
- Main finding
- Women reported higher physical and psychosocial work demands (43% vs 22%; 41% vs 20%), greater concerns about threats and violence (58% vs 38%), and higher rates of mental health problems (29% vs 8%) and sleep disturbance (60% vs 39%)
- Caveat
- Only three studies explicitly examined gender; Nordic-specific findings with limited generalisability
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). Nordic context with different workforce structures and regulations. Themes of workplace strain and violence are relevant but findings may not directly translate to Australian services.
Learning goal
Understand how gendered workplace demands shape paramedic wellbeing and safety in Australian practice.
More
- Topic: Workforce & wellbeing
- Daily scan: 18 August 2026
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