Examining the Impacts of Migration on the Mental Health of EMS Clinicians in a Southwestern U.S. State

To examine the impact of migration across the United States southern land border on the mental health of emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians in the border region. We conducted 67 in-depth interviews with fire-based EMS clinicians in three communities. Interviews took place from June 23 to 27, 2024. We conducted thematic analysis using inductive, latent coding in NVivo 14© software. Primary themes identified were that EMS clinicians were emotionally impacted by helping migrants, that calls to provide care to migrants often led EMS clinicians to feel overwhelmed, and that EMS clinicians have developed support systems and coping mechanisms for the mental health impacts of their job. Given the complex environment of the border region and the uniqueness of migrant-related emergency calls, EMS clinicians in the border region need greater mental health support.