ABSTRACT
Interviews with ambulance staff and work observations revealed a number of job and related stressors. Operational ambulance staff subseguently returned 184 questionnaires. Older respondents reported lower stress and were more likely to use problem-focussed coping strategies. Respondents reporting high stress tended to use emotion-focussed coping strategies and to report low coping effectiveness. Problem-focussed coping was positively associated with effectiveness. Analysis of stressor items revealed six factors: management & organisational, emergency operational, shiftwork & rotas, interpersonal, domestic, driving.
