Characteristics of the studies included in the thematic synthesis
| Paper | Year | Setting | Sample | Study methodology |
| Booker et al 7 | 2013 | UK ambulance service | 16 adult participants (patients and carers) | Qualitative semistructured interview study; thematic analysis |
| Ahl et al 28 | 2006 | Swedish ambulance service | 20 adult participants (patients) | Qualitative interview study, content analysis |
| Campbell et al 29 | 2006 | Scottish primary care | 78 adult participants (patients) | Qualitative semistructured interviews and focus groups, inductive thematic analysis |
| Rantala et al 30 | 2015 | Swedish ambulance service | 12 adult participants (patients) | Qualitative open-ended interviews, inductive phenomenological hermeneutic analysis |
| Porter et al 31 | 2007 | UK ambulance service | 25 adult participants (paramedics) | Qualitative focus group study; thematic analysis |
| Togher et al 32 | 2014 | UK ambulance service | 30 (22 patients, eight spouses) | Qualitative interview study, thematic analysis and mapping |