Evaluation of emotional intelligence and its relationship with job stress and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among Shiraz pre-hospital emergency technicians in 2020

Objectives: The working conditions of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are such that they are constantly exposed to stressors. If employees are unable to manage stressors, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among them increases. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the emotional intelligence (EI) and its relationship with job stress and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among pre-hospital emergency technicians.Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample was selected from a population of about 400 technicians with at least one year of experience in emergency medical service centers. The sampling was done through a census method. The following questionnaires were used to collect the data: Demographic Characteristics, Siberia Schering’s Emotional Intelligence Standard Questionnaire, Health and Safety Executive Questionnaire (HSE), and the Impact of Event Scale - Revised Questionnaire (IES-R). The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22.Findings: The mean score of EI, job stress and PTSD were 110.18 ± 17.73, 111.36 ± 15.31 and 32.15 ± 12.08, respectively. The results of the study showed that people with high level of EI have lower level of job stress. Moreover, people with high level of EI have lower level of PTSD.Conclusion: As EI predicts job stress and the symptoms of PTSD, the provision of EI training should be taken into consideration by officials as a factor in promoting mental health in medical staff, clinical competence, and the quality of patient care.