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Factors influencing conveyance of older adults with minor head injury by paramedics to the emergency department: A multiple methods study

Nicholson, Helen; Voss, Sarah; Black, Sarah; Taylor, Hazel; Williams, David; Benger, Jonathan

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Authors

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Helen Nicholson Helen5.Nicholson@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Research Fellow in Emergency Care

Sarah Voss Sarah.Voss@uwe.ac.uk
Professor of Emergency and Critical Care

Sarah Black

Hazel Taylor

David Williams

Jonathan Benger



Abstract

Background: Head injury (HI) in older adults due to low-energy falls result in a substantial number of emergency department (ED) attendances. However, mortality associated with minor HI is very low. Reducing conveyance to hospital is important for older adults and is a priority for the National Health Service (NHS). Therefore, paramedics are required to make accurate decisions regarding conveyance to the ED. This study used routine data and semi-structured interviews to explore the factors that influence paramedic decision-making when considering whether to convey an adult aged 65 years and over with a minor HI to the ED. Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were completed with ten UK paramedics from a single EMS (ambulance) provider organisation. Interviews explored the factors influencing the paramedics’ conveyance decision-making in adults aged 65 years and over with a minor HI. Data were initially analysed inductively to develop a thematic framework. A retrospective analysis of ambulance service data was also completed to determine the scope and scale of the issue in Southwest England. An in-depth audit of 100 conveyed patient records was used to determine the proportion of patients conveyed to the ED who met National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee (JRCALC) guidelines. Results: In 2019 South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) attended 15,650 emergency calls to patients aged 65 and over with minor HI, with 70.5% conveyed to ED. 81% of conveyed patients met NICE and JRCALC guideline criteria for conveyance, with the remainder conveyed due to wound care or other medical concerns. The framework developed from the interviews comprised four themes: resources; patient factors; consequences; paramedic factors. Important factors included: the patient’s social situation; guidelines; clinical support availability; the history and presentation of the patient; risk. Conclusion: This study examined paramedic conveyance decisions for older people with minor HI. It identified multiple influencing factors, highlighting the complex nature of these decisions, and may serve as a basis for developing an intervention to safely decrease ED conveyance in this patient group.

Citation

Nicholson, H., Voss, S., Black, S., Taylor, H., Williams, D., & Benger, J. (2022). Factors influencing conveyance of older adults with minor head injury by paramedics to the emergency department: A multiple methods study. BMC Emergency Medicine, 22(1), 184. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-022-00747-w

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 7, 2022
Online Publication Date Nov 23, 2022
Publication Date Nov 23, 2022
Deposit Date Nov 30, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal BMC Emergency Medicine
Electronic ISSN 1471-227X
Publisher BioMed Central
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 22
Issue 1
Pages 184
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-022-00747-w
Keywords Research, Head Injury, Minor, Injuries, Head, Aged 65+, Paramedic, Emergency Medical Services, Interview, Decision Making
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10192275
Publisher URL https://bmcemergmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12873-022-00747-w

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Copyright Statement
The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.





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