Integrating clinical research into paramedic practice:current trends and influences

As a practising paramedic on the health professionals council (HPC) register and a masters student of clinical research at the University of Southampton, the author is interested in current influencing factors on the integration of clinical research into paramedic practice. This article looks at national research and development policies, the paramedic role, training developments, the influence of the College of Paramedics and the HPC, research funding bodies, support of organisational structures, ambulance culture, collaborative research between ambulance services and academic institutions, as well as how these factors impact on the integration of research into practice in the pre-hospital setting. Finally, this article will then suggest strategies for overcoming some of the barriers to the integration of clinical and research practice by the paramedic.

Several current UK national health policies are focused on the promotion of clinical research in healthcare. In the white paper entitled Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS (Department of Health (DH), 2010a) the promotion and conduct of research is described as a core National Health Service (NHS) role. The Health and Social Care Act passed by Parliament on 27 March 2012 places duties on the Secretary of State, the board and clinical commissioning groups to have regard for the need to promote research within the health service (DH, 2012a). The research governance Framework for Health and Social Care (DH, 2005a) states that ‘all service and academic staff, no matter how senior or junior, have a role to play in the conduct of research.’