ArticleBMJ open2021
Paramedic experiences of providing care in wales (UK) during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (PECC-19): a qualitative study using evolved grounded theory.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Care Under Pressure 2: a realist synthesis of causes and interventions to mitigate psychological ill health in nurses, midwives and paramedics.BMJ quality & safety · 2024Pooled it
- Article
- Just-in-case medication use by ambulance paramedics responding to end-of-life care in the community: protocol for a multi-method study (RELIEF).British paramedic journal · 2025Article
- 'Every day was a learning curve': implementing COVID-19 triage protocols in UK ambulance services-a qualitative study of staff experiences.Emergency medicine journal : EMJ · 2025Article
- Barriers to paramedic professionalisation: a qualitative enquiry across the UK, Canada, Australia, USA and the republic of Ireland.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Secondary stressors and their psychosocial impacts on healthcare staff: lessons from a qualitative systematic review from the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.BJPsych open · 2025Review
- The COVID-19 ambulance response assessment (CARA) study: a national survey of ambulance service healthcare professionals' preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.British paramedic journal · 2024Article
- Emergency medical service interventions and experiences during pandemics: A scoping review.PloS one · 2024Article
- Ambulance clinicians' responsibility when encountering patients in a suicidal process.Nursing ethics · 2023Review
- Reduced quality of life, more technical challenges, and less study motivation among paramedic students after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic - a survey study.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Barriers to, and enablers of, paramedics responding to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases: An integrative review.Australasian emergency care · 2023Review
- Clinical determinants of oxygen saturation and length of hospitalisation of COVID-19 patients: A cross-sectional study in Indonesia.Enfermeria clinica · 2023Article
- Article
- Synthesis of Evidence to Support EMS Personnel's Mental Health During Disease Outbreaks: A Scoping Review.Safety and health at work · 2022Article
- How do care environments shape healthcare? A synthesis of qualitative studies among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Mental Health Symptoms and Workplace Challenges among Australian Paramedics during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Psychological Responses of Health Care Workers Are Strongly Associated With Pandemic Management.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Protocol for a constructivist metasynthesis of qualitative research of heroism and paramedic practice.British paramedic journal · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore paramedic experiences of providing care during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and develop theory in order to inform future policy and practice.
designQualitative study using constructivist evolved grounded theory (EGT) methodology. One-to-one semistructured interviews were conducted using a general interview guide. Voice over Internet Protocol was used through Skype.
settingConducted between March 2020 and November 2020 in the Welsh Ambulance Services National Health Services Trust UK which serves a population of three million.
participantsParamedics were recruited through a poster circulated by email and social media. Following purposive sampling, 20 Paramedics were enrolled and interviewed.
resultsEmergent categories included: Protect me to protect you, Rapid disruption and adaptation, Trust in communication and information and United in hardship. The Basic Social Process was recognised to involve Tragic Choices, conceptualised through an EGT including Tragic personal and professional choices including concerns over personnel protective equipment (PPE), protecting themselves and their families, impact on mental health and difficult clinical decisions, Tragic organisational choices including decision making support, communication, mental health and well-being and Tragic societal choices involving public shows of support, utilisation and resourcing of health services.
conclusionsRich insights were revealed into paramedic care during the COVID-19 pandemic consistent with other research. This care was provided in the context of competing and conflicting decisions and resources, where Tragic Choices have to be made which may challenge life's pricelessness. Well-being support, clinical decision making, appropriate PPE and healthcare resourcing are all influenced by choices made before and during the pandemic, and will continue as we recover and plan for future pandemics. The impact of COVID-19 may persist, especially if we fail to learn, if not we risk losing more lives in this and future pandemics and threatening the overwhelming collective effort which united society in hardship when responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: IRAS ID: 282 623.
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