There is now substantial research literature on the occupational stress among emergency dispatchers from multiple studies that have cited dispatcher claims of significant emotional, mental, and physical stress as a result of their work. However, there is very little literature that ranks in order of prevalence or severity the factors contributing to overall stress specific to emergency dispatchers. The aim of this study is to collect data that will complement other research findings in this field to inform the development of new programs designed to address specific...

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The difficulty of evaluating mental status, particularly alertness, is more pronounced in the medical dispatch context, where the Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) must work through the eyes and ears of the caller, who is most likely a layperson. Determining true non-alertness and the level of its effects on outcome needs to be solved to perfect the interrogation and response-coding processes at dispatch.

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Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems often utilize a structured approach to 911 call-taking and emergency medical dispatch (EMD). One such system, Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS®), categorizes 911 calls into EMD determinant codes based on problem and severity, with response priorities and resources determined at the local level through a predetermined response matrix. In this study, we proposed a methodology for utilizing historical clinical data to increase the accuracy of 911 call prioritization of patients with time-sensitive critical illness...

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