Background:

Lyngah, Sanson-Fisher and Shakeshaft (2010) indicated that some paramedics consider health promotion to be an important part of their role. Not only are paramedics in a good position to play an important role in early detection and primary prevention, they could be critical resources in rural and remote communities where health services are scarce. Should we wish to be successful in population health we may need to think about educating and empowering as many health professionals as possible to use public health and health promotion approaches in their practice.

Methods:

We conducted a literature review and a document analysis of the competency standards for paramedics and developed a model that adapts existing paramedic practice principles to include a public health and health promotion perspective.

Results/Discussions:

Some of the key areas identified are early detection, early reporting, early response, and on scene care that extends to the family and community. Furthermore, we identified the need for inter-professional education as a requirement for the modern health curriculum. This is because educational programs should aim to produce resilient and effective health practitioners that are able to work across disciplines.

Conclusions/implications:

Paramedics, especially in rural and remote areas, are well situated to embrace a health promotion role. Through appropriate educational offerings in paramedic education today, the paramedic professionals of the future could function successfully as emergency response professionals and as a critical public health and health promotion resource.