9,059
Views
13
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review Articles

Paramedic management of mental health related presentations: a scoping review

ORCID Icon, & ORCID Icon
Pages 89-96 | Received 20 Apr 2017, Accepted 30 May 2018, Published online: 29 Sep 2018
 

Abstract

Background: Mental illness is a recognised global health issue and is a major burden of disease that health systems have failed to adequately address. National reforms in Australia to improve mental health service delivery propose building the knowledge and skills of service providers, such as paramedics, to ensure that they appropriately respond to the needs of people experiencing mental health issues. There is a paucity of literature on the role of paramedics in managing mental health presentations despite becoming an increasingly significant part of mental health care in the pre-hospital context. Aims: This scoping review examined the available literature on the paramedic management of mental health related presentations. Methods: The five stages of Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework was used: (1) identifying the research question; (2) identifying relevant studies; (3) study section; (4) charting the data; and (5) collating, summarizing and reporting of results. Relevant databases were searched. Results: Fourteen peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria. Three themes were identified and structured the findings. These were education and training, organizational factors, and clinical decision making. Conclusion: The authors recommend that future research address these areas, as high quality evidence will support planning in this complex area of health care delivery.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 989.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.