Discipline of General Practice, Clinical Science Institute, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
Health Behaviour Change Research Group, School of Psychology, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 23;11(3):e042307. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042307.
This research aimed to examine the perspectives, experiences and practices of international experts in community first response: an intervention that entails the mobilisation of volunteers by the emergency medical services to respond to prehospital medical emergencies, particularly cardiac arrests, in their locality.
This was a qualitative study in which semistructured interviews were conducted via teleconferencing. The data were analysed in accordance with an established thematic analysis procedure.
There were participants from 11 countries: UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Sixteen individuals who held academic, clinical or managerial roles in the field of community first response were recruited. Maximum variation sampling targeted individuals who varied in terms of gender, occupation and country of employment. There were eight men and eight women. They included ambulance service chief executives, community first response programme managers and cardiac arrest registry managers.
The findings provided insights on motivating and supporting community first response volunteers, as well as the impact of this intervention. First, volunteers can be motivated by 'bottom-up factors', particularly their characteristics or past experiences, as well as 'top-down factors', including culture and legislation. Second, providing ongoing support, especially feedback and psychological services, is considered important for maintaining volunteer well-being and engagement. Third, community first response can have a beneficial impact that extends not only to patients but also to their family, their community and to the volunteers themselves.
The findings can inform the future development of community first response programmes, especially in terms of volunteer recruitment, training and support. The results also have implications for future research by highlighting that this intervention has important outcomes, beyond response times and patient survival, which should be measured, including the benefits for families, communities and volunteers.
本研究旨在探讨社区第一反应国际专家的观点、经验和做法：这是一种干预措施，需要紧急医疗服务机构动员志愿者在当地对院前医疗紧急情况做出反应，特别是心脏骤停。
这是一项定性研究，通过电话会议进行半结构化访谈。根据既定的主题分析程序对数据进行分析。
参与者来自 11 个国家：英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰、新加坡、爱尔兰、挪威、瑞典、丹麦和荷兰。
招募了 16 名在社区第一反应领域担任学术、临床或管理职务的人员。最大差异抽样针对在性别、职业和就业国家方面存在差异的人员。有 8 名男性和 8 名女性。他们包括救护车服务首席执行官、社区第一反应计划经理和心脏骤停登记处经理。
研究结果提供了有关激励和支持社区第一反应志愿者的见解，以及该干预措施的影响。首先，志愿者可以通过“自下而上的因素”（特别是他们的特征或过去的经验）和“自上而下的因素”（包括文化和立法）来激励。其次，提供持续的支持，特别是反馈和心理服务，被认为对维持志愿者的健康和参与度很重要。第三，社区第一反应可以产生有益的影响，不仅对患者，而且对他们的家人、社区以及志愿者本身都有影响。
研究结果可为社区第一反应计划的未来发展提供信息，特别是在志愿者招募、培训和支持方面。研究结果还强调，除了反应时间和患者生存外，该干预措施还有重要的结果，包括对家庭、社区和志愿者的益处，这对未来的研究也有影响。
