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Why Research Is Important in EMS

Research in the prehospital setting faces several challenges. Researchers have relatively little control over patient recruitment, as EMS patients call 9-1-1 at a time and place of their choosing. As a result it is more difficult, if not impossible, for EMS researchers to craft an ideal study sample. Frequent EMS users in particular tend to overrepresent certain segments of the population.16 EMS research also presents ethical barriers not always present in other contexts. For example, obtaining informed consent from patients in the prehospital setting may not be possible. Consequently—and despite the lack of evidence for much of the EMS “standard of care”—deviating from accepted interventions…

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Articles of Interest

EMS research basics

In the early days of EMS, most clinical practices lacked objective supporting data from the field prior to implementation. Treatments and diagnostic modalities often were transferred from the hospital setting to the field or adopted with limited testing in a controlled setting. This resulted in widespread use of ineffective practices – for example, the first generation of esophageal obturator airways. Today EMS experts and providers agree that we have a duty to prove what works and what does not work using well-designed research methods.

EMS Research in 2023: A Rapid-Fire Review

At the National Collegiate EMS Foundation’s (NCEMSF) Annual Conference in Baltimore Feb. 24, 2023, Joshua Glick, MD, FACEP, emergency physician at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and medical director for the Penn Medical Emergency Response Team, presented a talk summarizing notable and high-impact EMS research in 2023.

EMS Research: Trends and Funding After 20 Years

Since its publication in 2001, the National EMS Research Agenda has highlighted a noticeable need for more research focused on emergency medical services (EMS) and advocated for enhanced funding and infrastructure to facilitate EMS research.

How to Get Started with EMS Research

We’ve put together a set of helpful tips to guide you and your agency through the first steps, which we gathered from EMS providers at an agency with a history of involvement in research, and discussions with agency administrators and university emergency investigators and coordinators.

Optimizing Prehospital Care Through Research

The aim of prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) research is to guide the field with respect to clinical interventions and system designs. Research provides an evidence base to support the application of particular medical treatments and raises red flags when interventions are demonstrated to cause harm to patients. Systems-related research seeks to address operational and structural questions such as the optimum configuration of EMS personnel and the impact of medical direction in EMS.

State of the Evidence for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Care...

Emergency medical services (EMS) leaders and clinicians need to incorporate evidence into safe and effective clinical practice. Access to high-quality evidence, and the time to synthesize it, can be barriers to evidence-based practice.

Twenty Years After the EMS Research Agenda

Although total publications have doubled in the United States over the past 20 years, EMS-specific research has more than tripled and the number of funded EMS research grants has increased nearly 5-fold. Future evaluation should examine the quality of this research and its application to clinical practice.

Resources

EMS Research with Professor Bram

Join Bram Duffee, a paramedic and researcher with over 20 years of experience in critical care and 911, as he explores the latest research in emergency medicine and paramedicine.

EMS1 Research Center

The EMS1 Research Center serves as a central access point for critical prehospital medicine research that can help drive operational and policy changes at the local, state and federal level.

Prehospital Care Research Forum

The UCLA Center for Prehospital Care established the Prehospital Care Research Forum at UCLA in 1992 in cooperation with Jems Communications. The mission? To promote, educate and disseminate prehospital research conducted at all provider levels to advance and challenge the future of EMS.

999 EMS Research Forum

The 999 EMS Research Forum aims to encourage, promote and disseminate research and evidence-based policy and practice in 999 healthcare

Center for Fire, Rescue, and EMS Health Research

Understanding and improving the health of first responders through systematic research and evaluation.

EMS Healthcare

We accelerate and improve trial results by removing barriers to access for diverse populations. Our mobile clinical research units are helping to improve participant diversity and reduce patient burden by providing accessible trial sites and appointments in community locations, such as supermarket car parks:

EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center

The mission of the EIIC is to optimize outcomes for children across the emergency care continuum by leveraging quality improvement science and multidisciplinary, multisystem collaboration.

ESO

We believe in the power of data to improve community health and safety. That’s not just some lofty corporate vision statement — it’s something we live, breathe, and see the results of every day. We approach our work as if the lives of our own families and friends depended on the results. Because a lot of the time … they do.

Foundation for Prehospital Medicine Research

FPMR is a volunteer group of researchers, educators, and administrators devoted to promote and inspire EMS professionals to get involved with research.

National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians

One of NAEMT’s core values is the belief that professional education, national education standards and research are essential to the consistent delivery of high quality, evidence-based EMS. NAEMT actively promotes this value through our support of evidence-based EMS research.

National Association of EMS Educators

NAEMSE is dedicated to Inspiring Educational Excellence in a variety of ways. One of the ways we can directly drive innovation in EMS education is through fostering a collaborative and focused community of researchers.

National Registry Research Department

As the EMS certification organization, we ensure that all EMS clinicians have the knowledge and skills required for competent practice.

National Study Center for Trauma and EMS

The breadth and depth of expertise is unmatched, which allows the NSC to conduct a wide variety of research projects, including trauma-related research, encompassing injury epidemiology, Emergency Medical Services system evaluation, and health services outcomes. Injury research has included motor vehicle-related trauma, substance abuse, and violence studies.