EMS Sleep and Teamwork Study in Need of Participants

The photo shows the front of an ambulance.
File Photo

WHAT IS THIS RESEARCH STUDY ABOUT? Inadequate sleep and poor teamwork are common problems in EMS that have few solutions. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh seek to improve our understanding of sleep and teamwork in EMS by following hundreds of EMS personnel from over nine-months. The investigators want to determine if a brief behavioral intervention administered via mobile phone text messaging and via a mobile app impact common indicators of sleep and teamwork.

WHO IS THE TARGET POPULATION? We are first recruiting the leaders (administrators) of EMS agencies who may be interested in this study. Once an administrator agrees to participate, we work closely with the leadership to then recruit individual EMS clinicians.

WHEN WILL THE STUDY START AND END? Recruitment for this study is open starting September 1, 2020.

WHAT IS INVOLVED? We will ask EMS administrators to help the study team recruit individual EMS clinicians by disseminating information about the study such as a study flyer.

We will ask individual EMS clinicians to do the following:
1: answer online surveys;
2: attend a 1-hour webinar on the topic of safety in EMS; and
3: sign-up for a 6-month long study using our mobile app and text messaging study tools.

WILL THERE BE ANY PAYMENTS TO PARTICIPANTS? We will remunerate each individual EMS clinician $10 for each completed survey. We will provide an additional $10 for signing up for the 6-month phase of the study that involves the mobile app and text messaging, and finally we will provide $20 at the end of the study for completing the study as designed. In total, participants can receive a total of $100.

WHO DO I CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION? If you are an EMS Agency Administrator and are interested in hearing more about this study, please email Dr. P. Daniel Patterson at: pdp3@pitt.edu.

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