Despite increasing recognition of older adults as a distinct population within EMS, little work has been conducted to describe knowledge and practice gaps or to establish priorities for future research or translation.
I was excited to contribute to a project using a modified Delphi approach involving a multidisciplinary stakeholder panel to identify research and knowledge translation priorities with the greatest perceived potential to improve prehospital care for older adults. This work led by Maia Dorsett, and with Rebecca Cash, Rana Barghout, Daniel Baek, MPH, William Haussner, Gregory Peters, and Christopher Colwell was recently published in Prehospital Emergency Care.
Stakeholders identified several shared priorities for both research and knowledge translation, particularly improving the assessment of older adults after low-acuity falls, fall prevention, clinician training, and tools to support care in the field. We hope these findings help provide a roadmap for future efforts to improve EMS care for older adults.