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Workforce & wellbeing
Why ambulance workplace violence occurs
Workplace violence from the ambulance personnel's perspective, a qualitative study
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine · Added 26 August 2026
Qualitative study with Swedish ambulance personnel identified three themes driving workplace violence: personnel lack of competence and willingness to adapt, inability to cope with emotional responses to provocation, and limited control in unpredictable situations involving intoxicated or unpredictable patients.
- Study type
- Qualitative
- Design
- Qualitative focus group study with reflexive thematic analysis
- Participants
- 10 Swedish ambulance personnel in 3 focus groups
- Main finding
- Three themes: personnel lack of competence/willingness to adapt, inability to cope with emotional responses to provocation, and limited control in unpredictable situations (e.g. intoxicated patients)
- Caveat
- Small Swedish sample of personnel who personally experienced violence; findings may not transfer to Australian systems
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). Swedish ambulance service context differs from Australian models in staffing, scope of practice, and patient demographics, though the themes of situational control and emotional coping translate broadly to prehospital work.
Learning goal
Understand how emotional responses and limited situational control contribute to workplace violence risk in paramedic practice.
More
- Topic: Workforce & wellbeing
- Daily scan: 26 August 2026
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