Effects of Sleep Deprivation among Emergency Medical Services Workers Essay

Effects of Sleep Deprivation among Emergency Medical Services Workers - Essay Example Emergency medical service is one such field which requires utmost attention, even in the middle of the night. At times the workers are required to remain attentive continuously for more than 24 hrs, because it's a question of urgent medical requirements for someone. Studies have highlighted that if the workers are subjected to sleep deprivation regularly on many occasions; their body starts responding adversely, which in turn impacts their efficiency and accuracy at the workplace. If the worker is subjected to continuous sleep deprivation, the resultant fatigue could lead to effects like poor decisions, fatal accidents. It has been pointed out that continuous exposure to sleep disorders results in impairment of carbohydrate metabolism, weight gains and type-2 diabetes1. This in turn results in development of sleep apnea, which in turn reduces the quality of sleep, thus further resulting in deterioration of the carbohydrate metabolism and it gives rise to a brutal cycle of disorder. T herefore, experts are of the opinion that proper attention be paid towards this issue. This study is an effort to find out some such reasons and the resultant disorders. Today we live in a fast paced society, where competition is a rule rather than an exception, where all aspects of life are being viewed from the angle of sales and marketing. Be it a manufacturing unit or the healthcare sector, the competition is all pervasive. Healthcare services are a very crucial and integral part of the society. Health care becomes an issue, because while taking care of the competition we tend to ignore what we are supposed to do to lead a healthy life. Emergency medical services (EMS) are supposed to play a vital role in taking care of the emergency and trauma care system. The workers in these services provide emergency medical response to the sick and injured citizens. Though, the workers are placed in shift duties, but quite often it so happens that due to more number of emergency cases, they cannot leave the workplace even during extended working hours. Different levels of medical responses are included in the EMS. In general, the EMS includes, call handlers , emergency medical dispatchers, workers in the emergency telephone call centers, first responders like fire or police units, basic life support (BLS) ambulances, advanced life support (ALS) ambulances (USHS, 2007). The workers in these units are trained according to the requirements. Based on the reasons, the sleep deprivation is broadly divided into four categories; i. Based on lifestyle ii. Due to certain health complications iii. The medication side effects iv. Clinical disorders For an EMS worker the lifestyle becomes so irregular that it leads to other types of complications as well. Literature Review According to a study conducted by World Health Organization (WHO)2, the number of people with diabetes is sharply on the rise in recent years. This study found out that in the year 2000 the number of people affected with the disease was about 171 million worldwide. But more alarming is the projection for the year 2030, if we continue to adopt the existing lifestyle. It has been projected that by 2030 this figure might reach a whopping 366 million. Demanding working conditions often take its toll on the individuals' health as well as the actual output of the work. Emergency