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A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
Paramedic attitudes regarding prehospital analgesia
Brooks Walsh1, David C Cone, Emily M Meyer
1Yale-New Haven Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.brooks.walsh@gmail.com
Prehospital Emergency Care
|September 14, 2012
Summary
Prehospital providers hesitate to give pain medication due to provider attitudes. Addressing these barriers can improve pain management for emergency medical services (EMS) patients.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Medical Sociology
Background:
- Pain management is a key reason for emergency medical services (EMS) utilization.
- Prehospital analgesic administration rates are suboptimal, potentially due to provider attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify attitudes among prehospital medical providers that hinder analgesia administration.
- To explore barriers to effective pain management in the prehospital setting.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative methodology using semistructured interviews and focus groups with experienced paramedics.
- Purposive sampling from diverse EMS agencies in New England.
- Verbatim transcription, topic analysis, and iterative coding using grounded theory principles.
Main Results:
- Paramedics showed reluctance to administer opioids without objective signs of severe pain.
- Concerns included potential malingering, ambivalence about pain relief goals, fear of masking symptoms, and aversion to aggressive opioid dosing.
Conclusions:
- Attitudinal factors among prehospital providers present significant barriers to optimal pain management.
- These modifiable attitudes require targeted interventions to improve patient care.
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