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In the Line of Duty: A Study of Ambulance Drivers During the 2010 Conflict in Kashmir

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2012

Shabir Ahmed Dhar ,
Tahir Ahmed Dar ,
Sharief Ahmed Wani ,
Shahid Hussain ,
Reyaz Ahmed Dar ,
Zaid Ahmed Wani ,
Shah Aazad ,
Suhail Yaqoob ,
Imtiyaz Mansoor  and
Murtaza Fazal Ali
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Shabir Ahmed Dhar*
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Tahir Ahmed Dar
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Sharief Ahmed Wani
Affiliation:
Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, India
Shahid Hussain
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Reyaz Ahmed Dar
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Zaid Ahmed Wani
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Diseases Hospital, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Shah Aazad
Affiliation:
Government Hospital for Bone and Joint Surgery, Bagat Barzullah, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Suhail Yaqoob
Affiliation:
Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, India
Imtiyaz Mansoor
Affiliation:
Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, India
Murtaza Fazal Ali
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Muzaffar Ahmed
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Imran Mumtaz
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
Idrees Azhar
Affiliation:
SKIMS MC Bemina, Srinagar, Kashmir, India
*
Correspondence: Shabir Ahmed Dhar, MS SKIMS MC Bemina Srinagar, Kashmir, India 190001 E-mail shabirdhar@yahoo.co.in
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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to identify the problems faced by ambulance drivers working in a conflict zone.

Methods

This study was conducted on ambulance drivers working for the four major hospitals in Kashmir, India. The drivers were interviewed and asked a series of 30 work-related questions. The individual interviews were conducted over a three-month period in the valley of Kashmir that was affected by continuous violence, strict curfew, and strikes.

Results

A total of 35 ambulance drivers were interviewed. Drivers worked an average of 60 h/wk, and they drove an average of 160 km/d. Twenty-nine (83%) of the drivers experienced >1 threat of physical harm; 18 (54%) experienced physical assaults; and 31 (89%) reported evidence of psychological morbidity associated with their jobs.

Conclusions

The atmosphere of conflict on the streets of Kashmir impacted the ambulance drivers adversely, both physically as well as mentally. The stress faced by these professionals in conflict zones during their duty hours should be recognized, and corrective measures must be put in place.

Dhar SA, Dar TA, Wani SA, Hussain S, Wani ZA, Aazad S, Yaqoob S, Mansoor I, Ali MF, Ahmed M, Mumtaz I, Azhar I. In the line of duty: a study of ambulance drivers during the 2010 conflict in Kashmir. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(4):1-4.

Keywords

ambulance driversconflictKashmirstressviolence
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , August 2012 , pp. 381 - 384
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2012

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