Sexual harassment and its relationship with depressive symptoms: A nationwide study of Korean EMS providers

Abstract

Background Emergency medical service (EMS) providers may face sexual harassment (SH) from citizens. No studies have assessed SH prevalence and its association with depressive symptoms among EMS providers in South Korea. Methods We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 1346 EMS providers in South Korea. SH experience was assessed by asking, "During the past 12 months, have you ever experienced sexual harassment on duty by civil citizens?" Depressive symptoms during the preceding week were assessed using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Modified Poisson regression was applied to examine association between SH and depressive symptoms. Results Among EMS providers, 28.1% of females and 5.6% of males reported sexual harassment. In the gender-stratified analysis, EMS providers those who experienced SH were more likely to have depressive symptoms among females (PR: 2.97, 95% CI: 1.99, 4.44) and males (PR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.86). Conclusions Female EMS providers were about five times more likely to experience SH than males.