Qualitative research methods in preclinical emergency medicine

Qualitative research methods such as focus group interviews are rarely conducted in out-of-hospital emergency medicine, but such interviews are an important tool to evaluate patient satisfaction concerning the emergency treatment. Besides the medical skills of the emergency team, social, emotional and communicative skills increase the satisfaction of emergency patients and such skills can be analyzed more easily in a face-to-face contact with patients. The evaluation and improvement of these skills would enhance the quality of the emergency treatment, in particular from the perspective of emergency patients.