Understanding the role of the paramedic in primary care: a realist review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Since 2002, paramedics have been working in primary care within the United Kingdom (UK), a transition also mirrored within Australia, Canada and the USA. Recent recommendations to improve UK NHS workforce capacities have led to a major push to increase the numbers of paramedics recruited into primary care. However, gaps exist in the evidence base regarding how and why these changes would work, for whom, in what context and to what extent. To understand the ways in which paramedics impact (or not) the primary care workforce, we conducted a realist review.

Methods

A realist approach aims to provide causal explanations through the generation and articulation of contexts, mechanisms and outcomes. Our search of electronic databases was supplemented with Google and cita

SUBMITTER: Eaton G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8229679 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature