Paramedic interactions with significant others during and after resuscitation and death of a patient

Background

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest often occurs at home, requiring paramedics to interact with family members and bystanders during resuscitation and inform them should the patient die. This study explores how paramedics navigate interactions and the changing needs of the patient and the bereaved.

Methods

Phenomenological methodology inspired individual, semi-structured interviews. Data was then coded using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

Ten individual interviews with working paramedics with an average of 7.2 years of experience were analysed and resulted in four overarching themes. These themes encompassed communication goals and factors affecting their implementation. Four themes emerged: maximising patient outcome, minimising psychological trauma for significant others, paramedic engagement and communicating across cultures. Communication goals shift from maximising patient outcome to minimising psychological trauma for significant others during the resuscitation. Implementation of those goals is affected by paramedic engagement and communicating across cultures.

Conclusions

Paramedics used communication techniques based on personal and professional experiences, attempting to navigate limited resources, factors affecting paramedic engagement and a perceived lack of education and support in matters of grief and death.