In one year, an estimated 8 of every 100 emergency responders will suffer an injury or illness forcing them to miss work, says the study by Jonathan Studnek, a Ph.D. candidate in epidemiology at Ohio State University.
About 900,000 certified emergency medical services professionals responded to more than 17 million calls in 2005.
The most common injuries these professionals suffer are exposure to blood-borne pathogens from needle sticks, musculoskeletal injuries associated with lifting and moving patients, various wounds inflicted by violent patients, and injuries caused by traffic accidents involving ambulances.
Lost-work injuries were highest among those with a very high call volume defined as 40 or more calls per week.
Those working in an urban environment, or a community with a population exceeding 25,000, were three times more likely to report an injury with missed work time than their counterparts in rural communities, the study showed.
