National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA)

The 20-year partnership between the EMSC Program and NHTSA grows stronger every year. Both agencies have enjoyed a successful history of cooperation and collaboration around EMS and injury prevention issues not only for children and adolescents, but for the overall EMS system.

The purpose of the NHTSA interagency agreement is to assure that pediatric considerations are integrated into all programs, policies, and projects within the Office of EMS at NHTSA. Focus areas include: patient safety, evidence-based guidelines, and support for the National Association of State EMS Officials.

Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)

Beginning in 2001, the EMSC Program collaborated with the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics to develop, test, and apply the Emergency Pediatric Services and Equipment Supplement (EPSES) to the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey instrument. The purpose of the brief 30-minute supplement was to allow for a larger and more general sample than the previous National Electronic Injury Surveillance System studies.

Two papers based on the EPSES 2002-2003 data have been published:

• “Availability of Pediatric Services and Equipment in Emergency Departments: United States 2002-2003” published as a CDC Advance Data Report 367 in 2006.
• “Factors Associated with Ability to Treat Pediatric Emergencies in U.S. Hospitals” Pediatric Emergency Care 2007 Oct;23(10):681-9.

In 2006, the CDC also continued to co-funded two additional pediatric studies: “A Clinical Decision Rule To Identify Children With Intra-Abdominal Injuries” and “A New Method for Assessing Risk of Persistent Post-traumatic Stress In Injured Children and Their Parents” (manuscript submitted).

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

The purpose of the interagency agreement with AHRQ is to evaluate data from the Healthcare Cost Utilization Project (HCUP) to determine nationwide patterns of disposition and patient outcomes for moderate to severely injured children.

Through an interagency agreement, the EMSC Program funds an IHS EMSC coordinator to help facilitate better coordination of state EMSC programs and tribal EMS needs. In 2006, the IHS EMSC coordinator helped to develop an EMSC/EMS assessment tool to determine available resources and needs of tribal EMS services. In addition, the coordinator helped to develop a guide to assist EMSC state grantees improve partnerships with tribal EMS and to address cultural needs of the tribes.

Interagency Committee on EMSC Research (ICER)

The EMSC Program coordinates ICER, a federal collaborative effort begun in the mid-1990s to improve the quality and quantity of EMSC research. In 2001, a core group of ICER members joined forces to develop the first multi-agency program announcement (PA) on research opportunities in EMSC. In 2005, and again in 2006 and 2008, a revised “Research on Emergency Medical Services for Children” was published in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts. This funding opportunity seated a special study section for EMSC research.

Federal Interagency Committee
on EMS (FICEMS)

The EMSC Program helps coordinate FICEMS's Data and Research Committee, which functions to improve the evidence base and outcomes for prehospital research and practice.

The committee's current projects include: (1) conducting two webcasts to educate Internal Review Boards (IRB) on the Exception from Informed Consent for Emergency Research; (2) planning the IRB Options for Emergency Care Research Conference in September 2011; (3) providing feedback for the ongoing National EMS Assessment funded by NHTSA; and (4) evaluating the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) and Trauma Registry data and making recommendations for training public health staff. 

In 2010, the EMSC National Resource Center conducted a "Gap Analysis of EMS Related Research." This document presents a review of more than 270 clinical and non-clinical studies relevant to EMS and categorized into 10 distinct areas. An analysis of each category is presented with a comparison to existing research agendas and priorities to identify gaps in existing research.

This document may be used by federal agencies and researchers to understand the current status of EMS research.