Depression, anxiety, and stress of emergency medical technicians in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in Zanjan, Iran

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are healthcare professionals caring for COVID-19 patients. The prolonged pandemic may lead to fatigue and threaten caregivers’ mental health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the level of stress, depression, and anxiety among EMTs in Zanjan during the third year of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 194 EMTs from Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, between June 2021 and September 2021. participants were selected using random cluster sampling. Data collection involved using a demographic questionnaire and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.

All participants in the study were male, with a mean age of 33.46 ± 7.25. The mean and standard deviation of depression, anxiety, and stress were 3.12 ± 3.03, 2.24 ± 2.38, and 4.16 ± 3.27, respectively. A significant association was found between the mean score of anxiety and the number of missions and between the mean score of stress and the number of tasks, age, and work experience (P < 0.05).

The level of depression, anxiety, and stress among EMTs was within the normal range. The prolonged pandemic may have helped EMTs adapt to this critical situation. However, it is essential to note that this study was conducted on a limited group of EMTs, and socio-cultural contexts influence psychological characteristics. Therefore, further research in this field is necessary in the future.