Paramedic assessment of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital environment: a scoping review protocol

Thomas Gleeson-Hammerton; James Pearce; Marion Eckert; Adrian Esterman; Micah Dj Peters

doi:10.11124/JBIES-24-00069

Paramedic assessment of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital environment: a scoping review protocol

JBI Evid Synth. 2025 Jan 7. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-24-00069. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Thomas Gleeson-Hammerton^{1

2}, James Pearce^{2

3}, Marion Eckert^{1

4}, Adrian Esterman⁵, Micah Dj Peters^{1

6

7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Uni SA Clinical and Health Sciences, Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
² SA Ambulance Service, SA Health, Government of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
³ College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁴ College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁵ Allied Health and Human Performance, Rosemary Bryant AO Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁶ Adelaide Nursing School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁷ Health Evidence Synthesis Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
⁸ Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Federal Office), Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
⁹ Danish Centre of Systematic Reviews: A JBI Centre of Excellence, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Denmark.

PMID: 39763382
DOI: 10.11124/JBIES-24-00069

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this review is to develop a comprehensive collection of information about the current processes for paramedics assessing and referring suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital environment.

Introduction: Patients with COVID-19 are frequently encountered by paramedics and ambulance service clinicians. Increased demand on ambulance services has resulted in many of these services developing alternative referral pathways to avoid unnecessary conveyance to emergency departments. There is not a strong body of literature or rigorous clinical practice guideline on this topic to support the assessment and referral decision-making for COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital setting.

Inclusion criteria: Any suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients in the out-of-hospital environment who are seeking care for COVID-19-related symptoms and being assessed by paramedics will be considered for inclusion. Sources from scholarly literature and gray literature, such as ambulance service clinical practice guidelines, will be included. Sources from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, USA, Canada, and the UK will be included.

Methods: The review will be guided by the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A database search for scholarly literature will be performed, followed by a gray literature search. Databases will include MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Emcare, Embase, amber, JBI Evidence Synthesis, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Epistemonikos. Gray literature will include clinical practice guidelines, protocols, and procedures obtained from ambulance service websites and apps. Results will be presented through figurative, tabular, and narrative synthesis methods.

Review registration: Open Science Framework osf.io/yc7vq.