School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Emerg Med Australas. 2023 Feb;35(1):133-141. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.14086. Epub 2022 Sep 16.
To investigate the Australian general public's perception of appropriate medical scenarios that warrants a call to an emergency ambulance.
An online survey asked participants to identify the likely medical treatment pathway they would take for 17 hypothetical medical scenarios. The number and type of non-emergency scenarios (n = 8) participants incorrectly suggested were appropriate to place a call for an emergency ambulance were calculated. Participants included Australian residents (aged >18 years) who had never worked as an Australian registered medical doctor, nurse or paramedic.
From a sample of 5264 participants, 40% suggested calling an emergency ambulance for a woman in routine labour was appropriate. Other medical scenarios which were most suggested by participants to warrant an emergency ambulance call was 'Lego in ear canal' (11%), 'Older person bruising' (8%) and 'Flu' (7%). Women, people aged 56+ years, those without a university qualification, with lower household income and with lower emotional wellbeing were more likely to suggest calling an emergency ambulance was appropriate for non-emergency scenarios.
Although emergency healthcare system (EHS) capacity not increasing at the same rate as demand is the biggest contributor to EHS burden, non-urgent medical situations for which other low-acuity healthcare pathways may be appropriate does play a small role in adding to the overburdening of the EHS. This present study outlines a series of complaints and demographic characteristics that would benefit from targeted educational interventions that may aid in alleviating ambulance service attendances to low-acuity callouts.
调查澳大利亚公众对需要呼叫紧急救护车的适当医疗场景的看法。
一项在线调查要求参与者确定他们对 17 种假设医疗场景可能采取的治疗途径。计算了参与者错误地认为适合拨打紧急救护车的非紧急场景(n=8)的数量和类型。参与者包括澳大利亚居民(年龄>18 岁),他们从未担任过澳大利亚注册医生、护士或护理人员。
在 5264 名参与者中,有 40%的人认为妇女常规分娩时呼叫救护车是合适的。其他最常被参与者建议为需要紧急救护车呼叫的医疗场景是“耳朵里有乐高”(11%)、“老年人瘀伤”(8%)和“流感”(7%)。女性、56 岁以上的人、没有大学学历的人、家庭收入较低的人以及情绪健康水平较低的人更有可能认为呼叫救护车适合非紧急情况。
尽管紧急医疗保健系统(EHS)的容量没有以与需求相同的速度增加是 EHS 负担增加的最大原因,但对于其他可能适合低紧急程度的医疗情况的非紧急医疗情况确实在 EHS 的负担过重中起到了一定的作用。本研究概述了一系列投诉和人口统计学特征,如果进行有针对性的教育干预,可能有助于减轻对低紧急程度呼叫的救护车服务的需求。