Abstract:

Background: In Switzerland, paramedics lack academic training, meaning they do not receive specialized education in the field of research. Similar to many other European countries, paramedics are seldom included in prehospital research. However, consid-ering the significant gaps in knowledge within prehospital emergency medicine, educating and involving paramedics could markedly enhance prehospital emergency medicine research and decrease knowledge gap in this area. Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the impact of the inaugural Swiss Conference on Prehospital Emergency Care and Trauma Research on paramedics’ inclination to participate in prehospital research. Methods: A questionnaire was administered using Likert-type scales. All participants (100) were asked to answer a web-based questionnaire after attending the conference. Results: Out of 80 responses (80%), 72 were filled by paramedics and therefore included in the analysis. Participants were significantly more willing to engage in prehospital research after attending the conference (40/56, 71.4%) than before (23/56, 41.1%); p<0.001. Among participants already actively involved, 46.7% (7/15) responded that the event had a positive impact on their level of in-volvement. The results revealed a noteworthily increase in willingness to engage in research. Conclusions: A one-day conference solely focused on pre-hospital scientific research serves as a motivating factor for paramedics to partake in research in this do-main. Whether this will actually lead to a higher scientific output remains to be seen.