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When the ambulance nurse leaves the child at home – assessments and care encounters without transport to hospital

This doctoral project explores the care encounter between the ambulance service, children and their guardians when the assessment results in the child not being transported to hospital. The focus is on situations in which the child remains at home with self-care advice or is referred to another level of care.

The proportion of ambulance call-outs that are concluded without transport has increased significantly and now accounts for approximately one in four responses. Children represent a smaller but complex patient group, where assessments must take into account the child’s developmental level, communication and the family’s situation. At the same time, there is limited knowledge about how these decisions are experienced by ambulance clinicians, children and their guardians.

The project is conducted within the graduate school Close Care in collaboration between Luleå University of Technology and Region Norrbotten. Through registry studies and interviews with ambulance nurses, parents and children, the project aims to increase knowledge and contribute to safer, more person-centred and high-quality care for children and their families within ambulance services.