Degree
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Major(s)
Microbiology; Interdisciplinary Studies
Document Type
Immediate Campus-Only Restricted Access
Abstract
Burnout among emergency medical service (EMS) providers is commonly recognized as a significant threat to provider wellbeing, patient care, and workforce stability. Prior research has largely relied on national, quantitative approaches that obscure local variation and fail to adequately capture underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to characterize the prevalence, correlates, and drivers of burnout among Mississippi EMS providers using an explanatory-sequential mixed methods design.
Phase 1 consisted of a statewide survey of 501 practicing EMS professionals, incorporating the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) along with occupational and demographic characteristics. Phase 2 involved 17 semi-structured interviews with Phase 1 survey respondents to contextualize and augment quantitative findings. Quantitative analyses included descriptive statistics, Welch’s ANOVA, correlation analyses, and regression modeling, while qualitative analyses utilized the thematic analysis framework.
Overall, 50.1% of respondents met the criteria for overall burnout. Burnout severity was strongly associated with intent to leave the EMS workforce (β = 8.5, p < .001). Significant differences in burnout severity were observed across certification levels and agency types. No significant geographic variation was detected across state health districts. Qualitative findings indicate four primary pathways by which burnout develops: operational burden, agency environment, psychological trauma, and occupational entrapment. These pathways interact at statewide, regional, organizational, and individual levels to produce burnout.
Findings suggest that Mississippi is facing a structural burnout crisis, with overall burnout highly prevalent and structurally driven rather than an inherent feature of the profession. Effective mitigation of Mississippi’s burnout crisis necessitates coordinated, multi-level interventions that adequately address all identified pathways to burnout.
Date Defended
4-22-2026
Thesis Director
Dr. David Buys
Second Committee Member
Dr. Holli Seitz
Third Committee Member
Dr. Damon Darsey
Recommended Citation
Word, William C., "Losing My Religion: Characterizing Burnout Among Mississippi EMS Providers through a Mixed-Methods Approach" (2026). Honors Theses. 218.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/honorstheses/218
