Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Oct 2020
Letter ReviewResilience in a prehospital setting - a new focus for future research?
Handling and initiating of treatment in a prehospital setting are complex processes that involve many treatment options and include several parts of the chain of survival. Capacity to adapt to unexpected changes in the patients' conditions or in the surroundings is a prerequisite for patient safety. Outside the healthcare sector, safety science is moving from an approach focused on the analysis and management of error (Safety I) to instead understanding the inherent properties of safety systems (Safety II). In healthcare the attention to why service providers are able to succeed under challenging conditions remains sparse. The aim of this commentary is to give a better understanding of how the concept and inclusion of resilience can inspire a new approach for future research in prehospital settings. So far, most resilience studies have been conducted in emergency departments while the role of contextual factors and adaptations in a prehospital setting has remained unexplored. ⋯ Empirical research is of crucial importance to build and support resilient systems and processes in a prehospital setting. We need a new framework and a new approach to how research on this topic is conducted and to support resilient performance. This should involve identifying factors that promote resilience, both on individual-, team- and system- levels.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Oct 2020
ReviewDescription of Emergency Medical Services, treatment of cardiac arrest patients and cardiac arrest registries in Europe.
Variation in the incidence, survival rate and factors associated with survival after cardiac arrest in Europe is reported. Some studies have tried to fill the knowledge gap regarding the epidemiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Europe but were unable to identify reasons for the reported differences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe European Emergency Medical Systems, particularly from the perspective of country and ambulance service characteristics, cardiac arrest identification, dispatch, treatment, and monitoring. ⋯ Throughout Europe there are important differences in Emergency Medical Service systems and the response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Explaining these differences is complicated due to significant variation in how variables are reported to and used in registries.