Kamikawa Yohei, Hanaki Nao
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan.
Department of Public Health, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
PLoS One. 2025 May 28;20(5):e0320914. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320914. eCollection 2025.
Frequent ambulance dispatches is a common challenge in developed countries. Several factors have been identified as contributing to increase in dispatches, but no stipulation has explained the particular shift observed in Japan since 1995. This study examined ambulance dispatches in view of changes in a macroeconomic indicator.
This longitudinal ecological study covered all annual ambulance dispatch incidents in Japan between 1980 and 2021 (42 years). The regression model comprised the active job openings-to-applicants ratio during deflation, the active job openings-to-applicants ratio during inflation, aging population trend, and mean ambient temperature, with the Japanese total population as an offset variable.
There were a total of 177,042,244 ambulance dispatches during the study period. The active job openings-to-applicants ratio during deflation showed statistical significance in the regression analysis (generalized estimation equations estimate: 0.165, 95% confidence interval: 0.087 to 0.243) whereas the active job openings-to-applicants ratio during inflation did not (0.019, -0.021 to 0.059).
The active job openings-to-applicants ratio during deflationary periods was associated with increased ambulance dispatches.
频繁的救护车调度是发达国家常见的挑战。已确定有几个因素导致调度增加，但尚无规定解释自1995年以来日本观察到的特殊变化。本研究从宏观经济指标变化的角度研究了救护车调度情况。
这项纵向生态研究涵盖了1980年至2021年（42年）期间日本所有年度救护车调度事件。回归模型包括通缩期间的有效职位空缺与求职者比率、通胀期间的有效职位空缺与求职者比率、人口老龄化趋势和平均环境温度，以日本总人口作为偏移变量。
研究期间共有177,042,244次救护车调度。通缩期间的有效职位空缺与求职者比率在回归分析中显示出统计学意义（广义估计方程估计值：0.165，95%置信区间：0.087至0.243），而通胀期间的有效职位空缺与求职者比率则没有（0.019，-0.021至0.059）。
通缩期间的有效职位空缺与求职者比率与救护车调度增加有关。
