Paramedic PapersHome Workforce & wellbeing Little evidence for call handler wellbeing programs
Workforce & wellbeing
Little evidence for call handler wellbeing programs
A Systematic Review of Interventions to Support Health, Wellbeing, and Job Satisfaction for Emergency Call Handlers in the Ambulance, Police, and Fire Services
Stress and Health · 2026-10 · Added 9 October 2026
A PRISMA systematic review of 12 studies of health, wellbeing, and job satisfaction interventions for emergency call handlers in ambulance, police, and fire services found limited evidence that any intervention works, with no role-specific programs validated.
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Design
- Systematic review (PRISMA 2020, PROSPERO-registered, narrative synthesis)
- Participants
- 12 studies (n=9 to 4,020 participants)
- Main finding
- Interventions fell into four categories — psychoeducation/resilience training, residential recovery, organisational wellbeing initiatives, and multicomponent programs — but there was limited evidence of effectiveness for health, wellbeing, or stress outcomes; most studies assessed mental health only and samples mixed call handlers with first responders
- Caveat
- Significant heterogeneity, mixed samples of call handlers and first responders, and variable methodological quality including organisational barriers to delivery
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). Call taking sits inside every Australian ambulance service and workforce wellbeing is a national issue — the finding that the evidence base is thin applies directly.
Learning goal
Understand the system factors that shape effective wellbeing support for emergency call handlers.
More
- Topic: Workforce & wellbeing
- Daily scan: 9 October 2026
Related papers on Workforce & wellbeing
-
What makes an ambulance driver competent
Scoping review of 19 studies (2007–2026) mapped how ambulance-driver roles and competencies are conceptualised across EMS systems, identifying seven domains from technical driving through to work ability and fitness.
-
Growth and distress coexist in volunteer responders
A mixed-methods study of 123 Israeli volunteer first responders after the October 7 attacks found posttraumatic growth was positively associated with meaning in life, optimism and spiritual well-being, and inversely associated with PTSD symptom severity.
-
Shift-worker nutrition evidence: thin for responders
Systematic review of nutrition interventions for shift workers, with a pre-specified first-responder subgroup, found 43 eligible studies but most involved nurses and healthcare workers, with only a small minority in first-responder populations.
-
TRiM peer support training feasible for first responders
Feasibility and acceptability study of training fire-service peer supporters in TRiM found the 3-day course was well received with significant gains in capability and referral knowledge, but formal TRiM procedure use was minimal at 2- and 6-month follow-up.