Sammanfattning
BACKGROUND:
High energy trauma is rare and, as a result, training of prehospital care providers often takes place
during the real situation, with the patient as the object for the learning process. Such training could
instead be carried out in the context of simulation, out of danger for both patients and personnel. The
aim of this study was to provide an overview of the development and foci of research on simulation
in prehospital care practice.
METHODS:
An integrative literature review were used. Articles based on quantitative as well as qualitative
research methods were included, resulting in a comprehensive overview of existing published
research. For published articles to be included in the review, the focus of the article had to be
prehospital care providers, in prehospital settings. Furthermore, included articles must target
interventions that were carried out in a simulation context.
RESULTS:
The volume of published research is distributed between 1984- 2012 and across the regions North
America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and Middle East. The simulation methods used were manikins, films,
images or paper, live actors, animals and virtual reality. The staff categories focused upon were
paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), medical doctors (MDs), nurse and fire fighters.
The main topics of published research on simulation with prehospital care providers included:
Intubation, Trauma care, Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Ventilation and Triage.
CONCLUSION:
Simulation were described as a positive training and education method for prehospital medical staff.
It provides opportunities to train assessment, treatment and implementation of procedures and
devices under realistic conditions. It is crucial that the staff are familiar with and trained on the
identified topics, i.e., intubation, trauma care, CPR, ventilation and triage, which all, to a very large
degree, constitute prehospital care. Simulation plays an integral role in this. The current state of
prehospital care, which this review reveals, includes inadequate skills of prehospital staff regarding
ventilation and CPR, on both children and adults, the lack of skills in paediatric resuscitation and the
lack of knowledge in assessing and managing burns victims. These circumstances suggest critical
areas for further training and research, at both local and global levels.