Presentation of the Prehospital Emergency Research Network and an analysis of bibliometric indicators for scientific productivity in out-of-hospital care. / Presentación de la Red de Investigación en Emergencias Prehospitalarias (RINVEMER) y análisis bibliométrico de la producción científica en emergencias prehospitalarias.

TEXT: Through research we advance scientific understanding and its application in medical practice. Many of the advances in out-of-hospital emergency care are extracted from hospital settings, perhaps because of the difficulties inherent to our prehospital environments: heterogeneity, obstacles to data collection, biases not controlled for, among other limitations. Research networks offer opportunities to create connections among researchers and facilitate homogeneous data collection. We introduce the Prehospital Emergency Research Network (whose Spanish acronym is RINVEMER) and analyze bibliometric indicators of Spanish productivity in this specialty. Since 1975, a total of 512 articles have been published in journals with impact factors by 381 authors working in Spanish prehospital settings. The first such article published after the creation of the Web of Science appeared in 1999. The 61 authors affiliated with the emergency health services of Andalusia, a public company, made up the largest single author group. Publication productivity increased substantially in the last 2 years. A total of 63 PhD theses have been registered in this specialty - 8 of them at the University of Oviedo. With the growth of Spanish out-of-hospital research in recent years, we expect the creation of the RINVEMER network to improve collaboration among our researchers.

TEXTO: La investigación permite mejorar el conocimiento científico y su aplicación a la práctica profesional. En la asistencia extrahospitalaria, muchos de los avances provienen de entornos hospitalarios, quizás debido a dificultades inherentes al entorno extrahospitalario (heterogeneidad, dificultad en la recogida de datos, sesgos no controlados). Las redes de investigación permiten, entre otras cosas, la interconexión de distintos investigadores y la homogenización en la recogida de datos. En este artículo presentamos la Red de Investigación en Emergencias Prehospitalarias (RINVEMER) y los resultados de un análisis bibliométrico de la producción científica en emergencias prehospitalarias en España. Desde 1975 se han publicado 512 trabajos en revistas indexadas en la Web of Science (el primero en 1999), realizados por 381 investigadores españoles del ámbito de las emergencias prehospitalarias [máximo en Empresa Pública de Emergencias Sanitarias (EPES) de Andalucía, con 61 autores], con un claro incremento en los últimos 2 años. Además, se han realizado 63 tesis doctorales (máximo en Universidad de Oviedo, con 8). La producción científica en emergencias extrahospitalarias en España ha crecido sustancialmente en los últimos años, y la creación de RINVEMER permitirá mejorar las interconexiones entre los investigadores.

Measuring the levels of burnout syndrome and empathy of Spanish emergency medical service professionals.

BACKGROUND: to determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome among Spanish emergency medical service professionals and establish any possible relationships between their levels of empathy and sociodemographic and/or working conditions. METHOD: 550 professionals participated in this descriptive study by responding to the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Basic Empathy Scale. RESULTS: respondents were, on average, 40.9 years old (SD=9.03) and 63.4% were female. Their average length of service was 11.6 years (SD=8.1); 57.9% were physicians, 22.4% nurses, and 7.2% technical staff. Of the 337 who said they had children, 51% said that parenthood affected their emotional state when attending emergency situations involving children. Participants generally considered themselves to be competent (x˙=4.2; SD=0.7) and occupationally motivated (x˙=3.8; SD=1.1). More experienced participants presented fewer signs of burnout and empathy and more signs of competence (p<0.001). Occupational category appeared to significantly affect the presentation of burnout syndrome (p<0.05). Prehospital emergency medical services (PEMS) staff tended to rate their ability to perform their work and interact professionally with their patients more positively than emergency department staff. CONCLUSION: Spanish emergency medical service staff present similar levels of burnout to other healthcare providers but have higher levels of empathy. We found no significant differences in the presentation of burnout between physicians and nurses, but compared to emergency department staff, PEMS professionals appeared to be more confident in their abilities. Educational activities are required to improve professionals' ability to cope with their work and structural workplace interventions could help reinforce healthcare professionals' ability to tolerate intense workloads and to maintain their sense that their work is rewarding.

Handover of Patients From Prehospital Emergency Services to Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Analysis Based on Experiences of Nurses.

BACKGROUND: During the transfer of patients, both ambulance and hospital emergency service professionals need to exchange necessary, precise, and complete information for an effective handover. Some factors threaten a quality handover such as excessive caseload, patients with multiple comorbidities, limited past medical history, and frequent interruptions. PURPOSE: To explore the viewpoint of nurses on their experience of patient handovers, describing the essential aspects of the process and areas for improvement, and establishing standardized elements for an effective handover. METHODS: A qualitative research method was used. RESULTS: Nurses identified the need to standardize the patient transfer process by a written record to support the verbal handover and to transmit patient information adequately, in a timely manner, and in a space free of interruptions, in order to increase patient safety. CONCLUSIONS: An organized method does not exist. The quality of handovers could be enhanced by improvements in communication and standardizing the process.