What Is Known About Situational Awareness in Paramedicine?: A Scoping Review

Without situational awareness (SA), it is possible that paramedics, crews, patients, and the public may be at risk for injury or medical error. At present, it appears that minimal attention has been given to SA in the setting of paramedicine.

To map the state of existing literature evaluating SA in paramedicine.

To examine the breadth of knowledge available about SA and paramedicine. Searches of five electronic databases and grey literature were conducted to identify papers published related to SA and paramedicine. A narrative approach to synthesising and mapping the literature was used.

The concepts of paramedicine and SA yielded 1,125 results which, after screening, included 20 papers for qualitative synthesis. While the literature does show that SA can be measured in allied health simulations, this review shows that there is a very limited empirical understanding of SA and paramedicine.

While possessing SA has been shown to reduce accidents in other industries such as aviation and off-shore drilling, SA has not been researched in depth in paramedicine. Several knowledge gaps were identified that need further research including the potential effects of possessing, or not possessing, SA in paramedicine.