Open AccessEmergency medical services education research priorities during COVID‐19: A modified Delphi study
Author(s) -
Cash Rebecca E.,
Leggio William J.,
Powell Jonathan R.,
McKenna Kim D.,
Rosenberger Paul,
Carhart Elliot,
Kramer Adrienne,
March Juan A.,
Panchal Ashish R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of the american college of emergency physicians open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2688-1152
DOI - 10.1002/emp2.12543
Subject(s) - delphi method , thematic analysis , medical education , internship , covid-19 , delphi , emergency medical services , pandemic , medicine , prioritization , medical emergency , psychology , family medicine , qualitative research , business , computer science , sociology , process management , disease , pathology , artificial intelligence , infectious disease (medical specialty) , operating system , social science
Objective Our objective was to identify research priorities to understand the impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services (EMS) education. Methods We used a modified Delphi method with an expert panel (n = 15) of EMS stakeholders to develop consensus on the research priorities that are most important and feasible to understand the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on initial EMS education. Data were collected from August 2020 to February 2021 over 5 rounds (3 electronic surveys and 2 live virtual meetings). In Round 1, participants submitted research priorities over 9 specific areas. Responses were thematically analyzed to develop a list of research priorities reviewed in Round 2. In Round 3, participants rated the priorities by importance and feasibility, with a weighted score (2/3*importance+1/3*feasibility) used for preliminary prioritization. In Round 4, participants ranked the priorities. In Round 5, participants provided their agreement or disagreement with the group's consensus of the top 8 research priorities. Results During Rounds 1 and 2, 135 ideas were submitted by the panel, leading to a preliminary list of 27 research priorities after thematic analysis. The top 4 research priorities identified by the expert panel were prehospital internship access, impact of lack of field and clinical experience, student health and safety, and EMS education program availability and accessibility. Consensus was reached with 10/11 (91%) participants in Round 5 agreeing. Conclusions The identified research priorities are an important first step to begin evaluating the EMS educational infrastructure, processes, and outcomes that were affected or threatened through the pandemic.