This document provides an update on evidence-based guidelines in EMS.
EMS Research
Analyzing data and measuring performance to enable improvement in EMS systems
Data-driven, evidence-based EMS systems can promote improved quality of patient care. This need was identified as a high priority in the Strategic Plan recently released by the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS). Through our work with our Federal partners, State EMS officials and national associations, NHTSA’s Office of EMS demonstrates our deep commitment to supporting the development of rigorous evidence for prehospital care.
We support the development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines (EBGs), which play a critical role in improving patient care and outcomes as treatment decisions are based on research and data more than ever before. Our efforts also include fostering standardization and improvement of prehospital EMS data via NEMSIS and other related systems and conducting outreach to stakeholders to support the development of a culture of evaluation and scientific evidence for prehospital care. We also support the development of key performance indicators for EMS.
Resources
Research Initiatives
This document makes recommendations to improve EMS research and can be used by policy makers, EMS professionals and administrators, academicians, and interested members of the public as a rationale for the allocation of resources to EMS research.
Studies and Reports
Funded by a U.S. Department of Defense grant to the National Center for Disaster Medicine & Public Health, this study demonstrates improved tourniquet application by laypeople. It demonstrates that brief, asynchronous, web-based training coupled with just-in-time instruction improves tourniquet application success to 75% compared to the baseline of approximately 50% for just-in-time instructions alone.
This website offers critical information about how to stop serious bleeding during emergencies, and shares helpful resources and training materials.
Based on a survey of EMS officials in nearly every state and territory, the 2020 National EMS Assessment provides a national overview of EMS systems across the U.S., building on the previous 2011 national assessment. The study, conducted by the National Association of State EMS Officials through a cooperative agreement with NHTSA, includes information such as the number and types of EMS organizations across the country and who staffs them.
Commissioned by FICEMS and funded through NHTSA, the 2011 National EMS Assessment gathered data from local and state EMS agencies about the state of EMS in the U.S. The report examined more than 200 data points, one of the most comprehensive studies of the nation’s EMS system ever undertaken.
This research note extracts information from the 2011 National EMS Assessment about EMS system demographics. The purpose of the assessment was to describe EMS, EMS emergency preparedness, and 911 systems at the State and national levels using existing data.
This report analyzes the military's use of tourniquets and hemostatic dressings and its potential benefits for civilian use.
The National Workforce Assessment provides a critical review of EMS workforce literature, analysis of primary and secondary data, and interviews with experts in the field. The intent of this research is to provide guidance to the national EMS community in ensuring a viable EMS workforce for the future.
This report presents the qualitative findings resulting in EMS and data system stakeholder agreement on the utility of existing data systems for an EMS workforce illness and injury surveillance, a set of elements and characteristics of the surveillance system and a set of conclusions and recommendations.
The purpose of this study was to create a typology for classifying the configurations of EMS systems. The results indicate that EMS systems vary significantly, depending on factors such as the size, demographics, geography and the communities they serve.
The EMS Performance Measures Project, begun in 2002 and concluded in 2007, gives the Nation’s EMS community an additional tool to gauge and report various aspects of an EMS system including the environment in which EMS responds, the performance of emergency medical service (EMS) agencies, and the overall performance of local systems.
This report presents findings from the 2007 Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey pertaining to crash injury and emergency medical services. Section 1 presents the 2007 results. Section 2 compares findings across years, from 1994 through 2007.
Additional Information
Published in 2016, this study describes the 1999-2008 Longitudinal EMT attributes and demographics study design, testing, data collection and data collection methodology. It is the only national, randomized, and longitudinal data source for studying EMS professionals in the U.S.