How Paramedics Experience the Decision to Continue or Terminate Out-of-Hospital Resuscitation: A Scoping Review Protocol v1

Background Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a frequent emergency requiring a rapid therapy start to avert the patient's death. Nevertheless, during resuscitation, it becomes necessary to reassess the previous procedures and to decide on continuing or terminating the therapeutic attempts. It is unclear how paramedics experience these decisions, especially as ethical conflicts in this context may lead to moral distress. Objective This scoping review aims to summarise the present knowledge of paramedics' experiences regarding the decision to continue or terminate out-of-hospital resuscitation in the field. Design/Methods We will conduct a scoping review and apply the JBI approach to search for evidence within ten databases (PubMed via MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, CAMbase, CareLit, CC Med, Scopus, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, and Web of Science). Thereby, we will follow the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews. We will include suitable literature in English and German language. There won't be any limitations regarding the methods of the studies, their publication date, or the inclusion of grey literature. Discussion Our study will be the first to map the available literature on this topic comprehensively. Conducting a scoping review is ideally suited for this purpose. The results may help to develop interventions to prevent moral distress or injuries. Registration Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/74D3Z)