Introduction: Stress is an imbalance between the perception of demands and the individual’s perception of the ability to respond to them. During stress, the body tries to adapt to stressors in the environment through physiological, emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses which manifest outwardly as symptoms of stress. When the stress level is substantially higher than the individual's ability to cope it, the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur. PTSD is a mental disorder that can occur in individuals who have been victims of or witnessed various traumatic events. It is often accompanied by conditions, such as depression, use of substances, memory impairment, physical and mental problems. The work of paramedics in emergency medical care involves exposure to unusual traumatic events and other stressors that they have to deal with, so paramedics are particularly vulnerable to the possibility of developing PTSD. The need to prevent and provide assistance with PTSD is therefore high among paramedics. Purpose: In the diploma work we wanted to present PTSD and its presence in the profession of a paramedic in emergency medical care by reviewing literature. The next aim was to determine the most common causes or factors of posttraumatic stress disorder in paramedics and to discover, which coping techniques are the most common and effective among paramedics, who have been exposed to traumatic events. Methods: We used a descriptive method with a systematic review of the literature. Literature was searched in the Complementary index, Academic search complete, CINAHL with full text, Medline, Pubmed and Psycinfo databases, via access from the University of Ljubljana. We used the literature published from 2010 to 2020. Results: Nine original scientific articles in English were included in a more detailed analysis. The research shows that PTSD is very common in paramedics. The main factors for the development of PTSD are: high levels of chronic stress, critical incident stress, the number of previous exposures to traumatic events and direct exposure to events, depression and depressive traits and low personality resilience. Existing techniques for dealing with traumatic events and stress among paramedics are: problem-focused techniques (active coping, planning), emotion recognition, focusing on the implementation of technical procedures. separating professional environment from home life, mutual support, understanding helplessness and talking about the event, social support of a co-worker, friend and family member. Discussion and conclusion: According the reviewed literature, in the working environment of paramedics there are many stressors, which create a stressful environment and affect paramedics’ mental and physical health. We find some important factors that influence the possibility of PTSD in paramedics. The influence of these factors is reflected in the high presence of PTSD among paramedics. The findings suggest that effective coping techniques can help paramedics to control stressors and risk factors, thereby reducing the potential for PTSD. In the profession of a paramedic it is therefore important to detect the factors that cause the development of PTSD as early as possible and to design prevention programs that will help paramedics learn coping techniques and give them the opportunity for comprehensive psychosocial assistance.
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