Violence against ambulance staff

This interview study explores incidents where ambulance staff have been subjected to various types of violence and threats. The purpose is to understand what leads up to such events and what can be done to reduce the risk of occupational violence in ambulance services in Norway.

Ambulance staff are particularly vulnerable to violence and threats in their work as they often provide healthcare to people in acute crises, frequently in unknown and uncontrolled environments, often with little knowledge of the patient's history and medical background, and without quick access to help from others.

To understand more about how we can prevent occupational violence against ambulance staff, this study explores how ambulance personnel reason, assess, and reflect on the incidents where they have been exposed to occupational violence.

Through personal in-depth interviews, we ask the participants to tell a story they themselves have experienced and then explore what influenced the decisions they made in the situation and what they could possibly have done differently, as well as what they learned.