A Study of Staff Experiences of Delivering Prehospital Emergency Services in India in the Context of the EMS Agenda 2050 Objectives.
Emergency Medicine International · 2026-01-01 · Qualitative study
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Emergency care services are crucial to the delivery of modern healthcare. This study investigated prehospital staff experiences in delivering emergency care in a low- to middle-income country (LMIC) India. The study was guided by the EMS Agenda 2050 principles for people-centred and technology-enabled health systems. The study was performed with emergency medical staff from the city of Gandhinagar, India, which is designated as a future smart city. METHOD: This research used purposive and snowball sampling with 23 participants (ambulance drivers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and first-aiders) from government, non-governmental and private organisations. Online semistructured interviews explored current prehospital care practices, challenges and opportunities. NVivo software was used for qualitative analysis, with a reflexive thematic analysis approach used to derive themes and present findings. RESULTS: The thematic analysis identified four primary themes with subthemes: (1) job satisfaction and challenges, (2) attitudes and emotions, (3) technological factors and (4) efficiency and caring. Findings highlight opportunities for technological interventions to enhance citizen awareness and training, support relatives during emergencies, provide bystanders with medically safe guidance and facilitate digitalisation in prehospital care. CONCLUSIONS: This research advances understanding of the human and operational realities of prehospital care in a future smart-city context. Healthcare professionals demonstrated expertise and empathy in managing complex emergencies while recognising the importance of their role in caring for critically ill and injured patients. Although digital technologies are increasingly integrated into practice, hands-on skills and experiential judgement remain fundamental to effective care. The findings underscore the need for stakeholder collaboration, enhanced professional training and innovative citizen awareness initiatives to strengthen resilient prehospital care systems.
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Tags
Clinician perspective · Low- and middle-income settings · Paramedics & EMTs
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