Paramedic perspectives on workplace peer support: a thematic analysis.

PURPOSE: Trauma exposure and workplace psychosocial hazards can negatively impact paramedics' mental health. Peer support programs are increasingly deployed, but evidence regarding their use in this context is limited. This qualitative study explored paramedics' experiences with peer support.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 paramedics, from a single Australian ambulance service, who had recently (<12 months) engaged with peer support. Interviews explored support needs, helpful and unhelpful program elements, and program outcomes. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Four main themes were developed. First, participants described the needs, shaped by occupational demands, underlying peer support use, including processing traumatic exposures, clinical debriefing, managing work-life intersections, and to substitute other supports. Second, proactive peer contact helped overcome barriers to self-referral, identify at-risk paramedics and foster organisational support. Third, that practical and emotional benefits were underpinned by shared understanding. Fourth, that meaningful support depended on complementary peer-paramedic characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the importance of proactive peer outreach in paramedic services, suggest the need to explore informal clinical debriefing within peer support, and refine peer-paramedic matching to facilitate benefits. Future research should evaluate tailored peer-support models and assess their impact on program engagement, and paramedic mental health outcomes.