Date

2-13-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)

Chair

Mary Hollingsworth

Keywords

paramedics, dispatchers, call-takers, EMT, EMD, mental health, DASS-21, depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, MBI, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal achievement

Disciplines

Counseling

Abstract

The following dissertation examines depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout in dispatchers and paramedics of Western Canada. This study is meant to bridge a research gap in mental health among emergency health workers in British Columbia, Canada. The samples were collected through two self-reporting surveys, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Maslach Burnout Index (MBI), both of which are strongly validated and widely used in similar research. Of the 948 dispatchers and paramedics who participated, 771 (81.3%) responses qualified to be included. The data was entered into the Intellectus software where a variety of tools were utilized to evaluate the results statistically. This analysis leads to a discussion of the findings, followed by recommendations. As this data was gathered through self-reporting surveys, there is a possibility of skewed results. Therefore, future research designs should consider developing methodologies that lessen possible inaccuracies. Further research may include studying the benefits of developing a mental health curriculum for paramedic schools and using pre-employment filtering systems during interviews, exploring resilience and suitability of potential EMS candidates, and the mental health status of retirees from the field.

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