Frozen moments: flashback memories of critical incidents in emergency personnel.
- Kleim B Department of Experimental Psychotherapy, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland ; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Zurich Zurich, Switzerland.
- Bingisser MB Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Basel Basel, Switzerland.
- Westphal M Department of Psychology, Pace University Pleasantville, New York ; New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University New York, New York.
- Bingisser R Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Basel Basel, Switzerland.
- 2015-07-30
Published in:
- Brain and behavior. - 2015
Anxiety
burnout
depression
emergency department
emotional memory
flashback
intrusion
Adult
Age Factors
Anxiety
Conflict, Psychological
Depression
Emergency Medical Services
Fatigue
Female
Hospitals, Teaching
Humans
Male
Memory
Nurses
Self Report
Surveys and Questionnaires
Urban Population
English
BACKGROUND
Emergency Department personnel regularly face highly stressful situations or critical incidents (CIs) that may subsequently be recalled as unbidden intrusive memories. In their most extreme form, such memories are reexperienced as if they were happening again in the present, as flashbacks. This study examined (1) which CIs are associated with flashback memories; (2) candidate person and work-related features that predict flashback memories; and (3) the association between flashback memories and anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion.
METHODS
Emergency nurses (N = 91; 80.2% female) were recruited from two urban teaching hospitals and filled in self-report questionnaires.
RESULTS
A majority (n = 59, 65%) experienced intrusive memories; almost half of the sample reported that their memories had flashback character. Those involved in resuscitations in the past week were at a fourfold risk for experiencing flashbacks. Having worked more consecutive days without taking time off was associated with a somewhat lower incidence of flashbacks. Moreover, older individuals who reported more work-related conflicts were at greater risk for experiencing flashback memories than their younger colleagues with heightened work conflict and flashback memory scores, respectively. Flashback memories were associated with heightened symptoms of anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion.
CONCLUSIONS
The present findings have implications for evidence-based health promotion in emergency personnel and other individuals regularly exposed to CIs.
Emergency Department personnel regularly face highly stressful situations or critical incidents (CIs) that may subsequently be recalled as unbidden intrusive memories. In their most extreme form, such memories are reexperienced as if they were happening again in the present, as flashbacks. This study examined (1) which CIs are associated with flashback memories; (2) candidate person and work-related features that predict flashback memories; and (3) the association between flashback memories and anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion.
METHODS
Emergency nurses (N = 91; 80.2% female) were recruited from two urban teaching hospitals and filled in self-report questionnaires.
RESULTS
A majority (n = 59, 65%) experienced intrusive memories; almost half of the sample reported that their memories had flashback character. Those involved in resuscitations in the past week were at a fourfold risk for experiencing flashbacks. Having worked more consecutive days without taking time off was associated with a somewhat lower incidence of flashbacks. Moreover, older individuals who reported more work-related conflicts were at greater risk for experiencing flashback memories than their younger colleagues with heightened work conflict and flashback memory scores, respectively. Flashback memories were associated with heightened symptoms of anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion.
CONCLUSIONS
The present findings have implications for evidence-based health promotion in emergency personnel and other individuals regularly exposed to CIs.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- gold
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1002/brb3.325
- PMID 26221567
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/284382
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