Research

Mass casualty triage: using virtual reality in hazardous area response teams training

The VR simulation scenario was designed based on the primary triage of casualties using the NASMeD triage sieve (NARU, 2014). Recent evidence suggests that newer, more accurate triage tools are...

Prehospital end-tidal carbon dioxide measurement

The most common method of measuring EtCO2 in clinical practice is the infrared analyser. Rays from a source of infrared light are passed through a sample of gas as a detector analyses the degree of...

Spotlight on Research

Everybody has an opinion on NHS 111, especially those working in ambulance services. Following piloting, the system was formally launched in 2014 to alleviate the burden on emergency departments and...

Raised levels of depression and PTSD in ambulance staff: causes and solutions

Despite the increased risk of developing mental health problems, a paucity in research on how vicarious trauma affects the prevalence of depression and PTSD in the ambulance service remains; further...

Effect of shift length on paramedic anxiety

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a difference between anxiety experienced by paramedics who worked 12-hour shifts and those working 24-hour shifts. The mental health of EMS...

Demystifying prehospital research in practice

Chapter 1 provides an introduction that starts by defining (prehospital) research and justifying its importance. For example, it points out an 800% increase of prehospital research on the PubMed...

How paramedics apply the spinal immobilisation algorithm in trauma patients

This research was conducted as part of an MSc in advanced practice (prehospital care) at the University of Greenwich. It was a quantitative survey that used a convenience sample by approaching every...

Ethics part 3: paramedic distribution, or ‘the good, the quick, the cheap’

The fair distribution of finite resources or ‘goods’ is distributive justice in its simplest form (Campbell, 2017). Rawls is perhaps the most influential contemporary figure who presented a...

Spotlight on Research

Many paramedics will have raised their eyebrows upon entering the scene of a cardiac arrest to find bystanders performing chest compressions while the patient is lying supine on a springy mattress....

Let them See: Effects of Witnessing Resuscitation on Patients’ Loved Ones

Using the EBSCOhost service, a search was conducted using the MEDLINE, CINAHL, the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and the APA PsycInfo databases. A further search was conducted on...

Chest Compressions and Defibrillation as Aerosolgenerating Procedures

Scoping reviews offer flexibility when reviewing literature that spans multiple, diverse methodologies and allow a broad overview of a topic to be created. As such, they have been described as an...

Paramedic practice in low light conditions: a scoping review

Suggestions from the professional panel to improve driving were limited. The use of a dark mode to reduce the glare from the mobile data terminal was suggested as was using the low-power mode for blue...