Emergency nurses are exposed to bereavement, patient suffering and death, making them highly susceptible to death anxiety.

New research suggests that employers must recognize this and put support in place to improve the health of their staff and patient care.

Researchers claim that the nature of their work and everyday exposure to death and other mortality cues put them at greater risk of developing this debilitating psychopathology.

"While many emergency nurses and paramedics may be unaware of death anxiety, they are exposed to it in their everyday practice," Mike Brady, clinical supervisor paramedic at Swansea University Open University South West Ambulance Service, writes in Emergency Nurse.

Researchers said occupational risk-assessment tools for staff and nursing students could help combat death anxiety. They also think more research should be carried out to explore the incidence of death anxiety among emergency workers.

These death education programs could help reduce levels of death anxiety by preparing nursing students and nurses to confront their beliefs about death, and staff involved in critical incidents should be assessed against a trauma risk-management tool.

"Healthcare providers, university staff and employers must understand and try to prevent the development of this potentially debilitating pyschopathology to improve the health of their staff and the care of patients."

Researchers suggest that those involved in organizing staff schedules should also try to rotate emergency healthcare workers so that they are not over-exposed to mortality cues.