Paramedic PapersTopic
Older people research
5 recent papers on older people in paramedic and prehospital care, newest first. Each has a plain-English summary, the study design, the main finding and caveat, and what it means for Australian practice.
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Bathroom jobs eat scene time
Among 26,058 older Japanese patients transported from home, EMS on-scene time ran up to 9% longer when the patient was found in the toilet, bathroom or kitchen and on higher floors, and shorter in corridors and gardens.
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NAEMSP guidance: older adults after low-acuity falls
NAEMSP position statement and resource document on assessing and managing older adults after perceived low-acuity falls and 'lift assist' calls; abstract not yet available, so the specific recommendations can't yet be checked.
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Direct geriatric admission depends on geography
Swedish register study of 8208 ambulance-transported patients aged ≥65 in Stockholm found only 7% went directly to a geriatric unit instead of an ED, with conveyance rates varying fourfold (4–21%) between hospital service areas and largely explained by distance, ownership and staffed-bed numbers.
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Rising ED boarding for older adults
US national survey analysis of 4.45 million admissions of adults aged ≥65 (2015–2022) — 85% boarded ≥2 hours in the ED, mean boarding time rose from 138 minutes in 2018 to 343 minutes in 2022 and roughly 501 minutes for patients with Alzheimer's-related dementia, with the worst growth in metropolitan areas and among those ≥75.
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Research priorities for prehospital older adult care
Modified Delphi study identified five high-priority research themes for older adult prehospital care, with falls assessment, prevention, and clinician training ranking highest across research and knowledge translation domains.