A scoping review of out-of-hospital research in Ireland from 2000 to 2022

A key component to the continued development of any profession is a strong research culture. For paramedicine, a research culture that acknowledges the uniqueness of the out-of-hospital setting allows clinical practice to develop. Recent international publications investigating paramedicine research outputs demonstrated that Ireland was not strongly represented in the production of paramedicine-based research. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and evaluate the quantity and quality of the research published to date in the Irish out-of-hospital literature, and to identify research gaps that may need to be addressed. A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance. All studies that reported on out-of-hospital care in the Republic of Ireland were included. MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and grey literature sources were searched from 2000 until 2022 for relevant articles in March 2023. Key authors were contacted to identify missing articles and data were extracted to present the final publication yield. Scientific quality was assessed using Clarivate Average Journal Impact Factor Percentiles. Over 3200 research outputs were identified from the databases with a final yield of 294 research outputs included in this review. Research outputs were identified for most years included in the review period, with outputs published in a large range of journals. Research heavily focused on areas linked to the Clinical Practice Guidelines, and predominantly used quantitative data collection methods. Most authors identified in this review were named on only one output. However, diversification in research topics and methodologies, a concerted effort to ensure practitioners are leading research and support to ensure that conference presentations are continued to peer-reviewed publication would strengthen this resolve.