Prehospital Emergency Paramedics And Other Health Practitioners’ Adherence To Guidelines And Standard Precautions In Emergency Departments: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Clinical practice guidelines and protocols are developed to enhance the quality of care, minimize practice variation, and ensure that evidence is utilized appropriately, such as in training, risk awareness, resource allocation, and consideration of environmental pressures in emergency settings. Aim: The study aimed to gather the current evidence regarding the adherence of prehospital emergency paramedics and other healthcare practitioners to guidelines and standard precautions in emergency departments and prehospital settings. Methods: This systematic review (SR) involved searching PubMed and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and other databases, for publications between 2017 and 2025, with relevant research included based on established criteria. We extracted data from all the selected articles and formulated themes based on it. Results: This systematic review identified 20 studies published since 2017 regarding the compliance of prehospital emergency paramedics and other healthcare professionals with guidelines and standard precautions in emergency rooms and prehospital environments. The results underscore differing degrees of adherence, prevalent obstacles, and possible enhancement measures. Conclusion: The findings indicate considerable discrepancies in professionals' compliance with (inter)national prehospital and emergency department protocols, although adherence in the emergency medical dispatch context is still undocumented. undocumented. the poor understanding of factors affecting adherence in emergency care settings, future research must identify these elements to facilitate the creation of interventions that boost adherence and subsequently improve care quality.