The EMS Sleep Health Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial

NCT ID: NCT04218279

Last Updated: 2022-04-05

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

678 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-02-24

Study Completion Date

2021-07-31

Brief Summary

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The experiment seeks to determine the impact of a sleep health and fatigue education and training program on diverse indicators of sleep and fatigue among Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. The overarching goals of this research study are to \[1\] enhance our understanding of the relationships between shift work, sleep, and fatigue in EMS operations; and \[2\] determine whether or not providing education and training to EMS personnel on the importance of sleep health and dangers of fatigue impact indicators of sleep and fatigue. The investigators will accomplish these goals by using a cluster-randomized trial study design with a wait-list control group.

Detailed Description

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The overarching goals of this research study are to:

1. enhance our understanding of the relationships between shift work, sleep, and fatigue in EMS operations; and
2. determine whether or not providing education and training to EMS personnel on the importance of sleep health and dangers of fatigue impact indicators of sleep and fatigue.

The investigators will recruit EMS nationwide for EMS agencies to participate in this study and focus on moderately sized EMS agencies with between 50 and 300 employees (yet we will not outright exclude smaller or larger organizations). Agencies that run dual ground-based and air-medical EMS services are eligible. Maximum enrollment at the agency-level is n=30 EMS agencies. Agencies will be randomized upon enrollment to one of two arms: \[1\] Intervention group; or \[2\] the Wait-List control group. The intervention group will receive immediate access to the intervention materials (the 10 brief Sleep Health Education Modules). The wait-list control group will receive access to intervention materials at 3 months post enrollment/baseline.

Within each agency, the investigators will recruit individual EMS clinicians to participate. Goal enrollment within each agency is a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 50 EMS clinicians.

All individual EMS clinician participants will undergo informed consent, answer a baseline survey, and be queried via mobile phone text message at regular intervals which will begin upon enrollment. These mobile phone text message queries will assess indicators of sleep and fatigue. All participants will be asked to answer two follow up surveys at 3 months and 6 months. The total duration of study participation is 6 months. The primary outcome of interest is sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The secondary outcome of interest is fatigue as measured by the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ).

Conditions

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Sleep Quality Fatigue

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Unblinded

Study Groups

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Sleep Health Education

At baseline, the experimental group will have immediate access to 10 brief education modules focused on diverse elements of sleep health and fatigue.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Sleep Health Education

Intervention Type OTHER

Intervention materials include 10 brief education modules that the target population will review/view on a secure study-specific website.

Wait List Control

At 3 months after baseline, the wait-list control group will be provided access to the 10 education modules focused on diverse elements of sleep health and fatigue..

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Sleep Health Education

Intervention Type OTHER

Intervention materials include 10 brief education modules that the target population will review/view on a secure study-specific website.

Interventions

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Sleep Health Education

Intervention materials include 10 brief education modules that the target population will review/view on a secure study-specific website.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* EMS Personnel:

1. 18 years of age or older
2. Currently working as an EMS clinician
3. Working a minimum of one shift a week
4. Working \& residing in the United States
5. Working at one of the EMS organizations that agreed to participate in this study
6. Have a cellular, mobile, or smart phone that can send and receive text messages
7. Willing to answer online surveys and respond to text-message queries for seven days in a row every third week of the month for a total of 24 weeks/6 months

Exclusion Criteria

* EMS Personnel:

1. Individuals \<18 years of age
2. Not currently working as an EMS clinician
3. Does not work a minimum of one shift a week
4. Does not work and/reside in the United States
5. Does not work at one of the EMS organizations that agreed to participate in this study
6. Does not have a cellular, mobile, or smart phone that can send and receive text messages
7. Is not willing to answer online surveys and respond to text-message queries for seven days in a row every third week of the month for a total of 24 weeks/6 months.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

100 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

National Association of State EMS Officials

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Pittsburgh

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Daniel Patterson, PhD, NRP

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Daniel Patterson

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Pittsburgh

Locations

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University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Patterson PD, Martin SE, MacAllister SA, Weaver MD, Patterson CG. Variations in Sleep, Fatigue, and Difficulty with Concentration Among Emergency Medical Services Clinicians During Shifts of Different Durations. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Apr 6;22(4):573. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22040573.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40283798 (View on PubMed)

Patterson PD, Martin SE, Brassil BN, Hsiao WH, Weaver MD, Okerman TS, Seitz SN, Patterson CG, Robinson K. The Emergency Medical Services Sleep Health Study: A cluster-randomized trial. Sleep Health. 2023 Feb;9(1):64-76. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2022.09.013. Epub 2022 Nov 10.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 36372657 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

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DTNH2215R00029

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

STUDY19080090

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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