Table 5.

Suggestions of research questions to be addressed

Research topic	Suggestions of research questions to be addressed (collected in Delphi round II, III)
Non-conveyance	– How many times does non-transport occur? – What are patient characteristics of this group? – Was it the right decision not to transport the patient to the hospital afterwards (morbidity/mortality rates)?
Performance measures for quality of care	– What is the quality of ambulance care in the Netherlands – and is there regional variation?
Hand over/registration/exchange of patient data	– What patient information should be registered uniformly nationwide? – What is the most effective way to handover patient data and information from ambulance to hospital?
Care and task substitution (MANP & PA)	– What tasks can a MANP and PA carry out in the EMS field? – What are the effects of care/task substitution on quality of care and costs?
Triage	– What are the effects of different triage tools (such as NTS and ProQa)?
Assessment of acute neurologic signs & symptoms	– Can ambulance nurses effectively assess acute neurologic signs and symptoms in order to start thrombolytic-treatment earlier?
Protocols and protocol adherence	– To what extent do EMS professionals adhere to protocols? – When do professionals deviate from protocol, and why?
Immobilisation	– When and how to immobilise patients in pre-hospital setting? – How to determine which patients should be immobilised?
Open/secure airway (e.g. intubation)	– What is the effectiveness of different devices for intubation? – What is the most effective device for open/secure airway in children?