The Role of Community Paramedicine Programming in Providing Lift Assists in Southwestern Ontario
Abstract
Lift assist refers to calls for emergency medical services indicating that an individual has fallen, is unable to mobilize, receives no treatment on scene, and refuses transport to the hospital following paramedic response. As the aging population grows, there is a national increase in the lift assist call type, impacting paramedic services, patient health outcomes, and primary care providers. This qualitative focused ethnography study utilized semi-structured interviews with community paramedics (CPs) to describe the role of CPs in providing lift assists in Southwestern Ontario. Interview transcripts were inductively coded and analyzed to generate themes and broader categories to examine paramedic perceptions of community paramedicine programming and the experience of responding to lift assists. This study revealed that having CPs provide lift assists could improve patient health outcomes through a more appropriate response, enhanced assessments, and care provider follow up while simultaneously reducing emergency department presentations and paramedic burden.