The following is a summary of “Twenty Years After the EMS Research Agenda: Trends in Emergency Medical Services Publications and Research Funding,” published in the July 2023 issue of Emergency Medicine by Goldberg et al.

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. Researchers examined the patterns in EMS-specific literature and National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research grants over the past two decades following the publication of this significant study. A structured PubMed search identified English-language citations from 2001 to 2020 about populations, settings, or topics associated with emergency medical services (EMS) care, education, or operations. Publications in medical journals and studies not involving human subjects were excluded. 

Using a comparable structured query, investigators also searched the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER). Medical titles, keywords, and abstracts were reviewed. Descriptive statistics were computed, and nonlinear trends were characterized using segmented regression models. A cumulative count of 183,307 citations fulfilled the search criteria in PubMed, while 4,281 research grants were identified in NIH RePORTER. After eliminating duplicate entries, 152,408 titles underwent screening, of which 17,314 (11.5%) were deemed eligible for inclusion. The number of EMS-related publications experienced a significant rise from 419 in 2001 to 1,788 in 2020, reflecting a substantial 327% increase.

In comparison, the overall number of publications in PubMed saw a 197% increase during the same period. There was a statistically significant nonlinear (J-shaped) increase in emergency medical services (EMS) publications after 2007. There were 1,166 funded EMS-related National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, exhibiting a notable 469% surge from 2001 to 2020, in contrast to a modest 18% increase observed in overall NIH awards. Despite an overall increase in publications in the United States over the past two decades, there has been a significant rise in EMS-specific research, which has more than tripled. Additionally, the number of funded EMS research grants has experienced an almost five-fold increase. Subsequent assessment should evaluate the caliber of this study and its relevance to clinical implementation.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196064423001270