The Prehospital Medicine Research Group is currently conducting a number of ongoing studies funded by internal and external grants and awards:
Prehospital Simulation
We are evaluating a model for delivery of field simulation for training prehospital providers. The first phase of this study will evaluate the response of the prehospital providers to implementation of this model. The goals for the next phases will include analysis of the effectiveness of this training model and ultimately strive to demonstrate improved knowledge retention and care of the prehospital patient.
CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry for Enhanced Survival)
Our participation in CARES (Cardiac Arrest Registry for Enhanced Survival) began in 2016 with expert guidance from our EMS researchers. This was a collaborative effort nationwide between the Dane County Emergency Management office, numerous EMS agencies, several local hospitals, and the CARES leadership team. Participation in this out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry will enable us to compare patient populations, interventions, and outcomes locally to the national benchmarks with the goal of identifying opportunities to improve quality of care and ascertain whether resuscitation is provided according to evidence-based guidelines.
Paramedic-Coached ED Care Transitions to Help Older Adults Maintain their Health
In this NIH-funded study, we are performing a randomized controlled trial of a new intervention to improve the health of older adults discharged home from the ED. We are adapting the Care Transition Intervention (CTI), a validated hospital-to-home transitions program, to the ED setting and using paramedics to deliver the coaching services. We hypothesize that our CTI program will improve older adults’ post-ED health outcomes, including decreasing the large proportion of older patients who return to an ED for care within 30 days.
The Role of Unmet Medical and Psychosocial Needs on Acute Care Use by Patients with Dementia
Community-dwelling older adults with dementia use emergency care at very high rates and experience significant hazards in the ED. However, their acute illnesses may be preventable by addressing pre-existing unmet needs. Alternatively, the ED visits for these patients may be avoidable by substituting the visit with alternative, novel approaches to deliver acute illness care (e.g., telemedicine). This qualitative study aims to understand the unmet needs experienced by patients with dementia, their caregivers, and their healthcare providers so as to translate and implement a community paramedicine-based model of care to support these individuals.