Photo Credit: Gorodenkoff
The following is a summary of “Impact of the First Swiss Conference on Prehospital Emergency Care and Trauma Research (SPECTRe) on Paramedics’ Intention to Engage in Research: cross-sectional study,” published in the December 2024 issue of Emergency Medicine by Zünd et al.
Paramedics in Switzerland and much of Europe often lack academic training and involvement in prehospital research despite the potential to bridge knowledge gaps in emergency medicine.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the effect of the inaugural Swiss Conference on Prehospital Emergency Care and Trauma Research on paramedics’ willingness to engage in prehospital research.
They employed a web-based questionnaire using Likert-type scales, targeting all participants (100) following the attendance at the inaugural Swiss Conference on Prehospital Emergency Care and Trauma Research.
The results showed 72 out of 80 responses (80%) were submitted by paramedics and were included in the analysis. An increase in willingness to participate in prehospital research was observed after the conference (40/56, 71.4%) compared to before (23/56, 41.1%); P <0.001, those already involved in research, 46.7% (7/15) reported a positive impact on the engagement. Overall, the findings indicated a gain in interest in prehospital research.
Investigators concluded a 1-day conference focused on pre-hospital scientific research motivated paramedics to engage in research in this field, although the impact on scientific output remained uncertain.
Source: jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(24)00362-7/abstract
