Community awareness of emergency phone numbers

Laypeople's activity for seeking telephone number of EMS before and during the COVID-19 outbreak: An analysis of web search data

Objective

To explore trends and patterns of laypeople's activity for seeking telephone number of emergency medical services (EMS) based on analysis of online search traffic, including changes of the search activity with onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, in five countries – the United States of America (USA), India, Brazil, the United Kingdom (UK) and Russia.

Methods

Google Trends (GT) country-level data on weekly relative search volumes (RSV) for top queries to seek EMS number were examined for January 2018–October 2021, including a comparison of RSVs between pre-COVID-19 period (January 2018–October 2019) and COVID-19 period (January 2020–October 2021), and evaluation of temporal associations of RSVs with weekly numbers of new COVID-19 cases.

Results

The countries demonstrated diverse patterns of the search activity with significantly different mean RSVs (the USA 1.76, India 10.20, Brazil 2.51, the UK 6.42, Russia 56.79; p < 0.001). For all countries excepting the USA mean RSVs of the COVID-19 period were significantly higher compared with the pre-COVID-19 ones (India +74%, Brazil +148%, the UK +22%, Russia +9%; p ≤ 0.034), and exhibited positive correlations with numbers of new COVID-19 cases, more pronounced for 2021 (India r_S = 0.538, Brazil 0.307, the UK 0.434, Russia 0.639; p ≤ 0.045).

Conclusion

Laypeople's activity for seeking EMS telephone number greatly varies between countries. It clearly responds to the spread of COVID-19 and could be reflective of public need for obtaining emergency help. Further studies are required to establish the role of GT for conducting real-time surveillance of population demand for EMS.

EMS ... agenda for the future

In 1996, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau published the EMS Agenda for the Future. To date, thousands of copies have been distributed to EMS-knowledgeable people, and those who aspire to be, throughout the United States. This article reviews the findings discussed within the EMS Agenda for the Future. This discussion also assesses the effects of these findings on EMS development.

Emergency medical services for children: a general pediatrician's perspective

The EMSC movement is still in its infancy, and there is much that remains to be done. The primary care pediatrician plays a major role in the EMSC system and should continue to advocate for efficient, high-quality pediatric emergency care. In summary, there are several ways that the office-based pediatrician can and should become involved with EMSC: 1. Pediatricians should emphasize safe and injury prevention at each health maintenance visit throughout a child's life. 2. Pediatricians should encourage all parents to become certified in BLS/CPR. Ideally, training in CPR should be provided during prenatal and childbirth classes. 3. Pediatricians should advocate for injury prevention and safety campaigns in their communities. They can also become involved with efforts to develop legislation dealing with issues in injury prevention and safety. 4. Pediatricians should ensure that all children receive the appropriate immunizations. 5. Pediatricians need to maintain office emergency preparedness. All office personnel should maintain certification in BLS as a minimum and ideally, PALS. Equipment used for pediatric resuscitation should be available and functional. Monthly mock codes should be scheduled to ensure that all personnel clearly know their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency. 6. Pediatricians should maintain their skills in emergency pediatrics. In addition, they should maintain certification in PALS. Continuing medical education (CME) workshops and conferences in emergency pediatrics are available throughout the year. Also, pediatricians can maintain their airway management skills by practicing endotracheal intubation in the operating room setting. 7. Pediatricians must become familiar with the prehospital care providers, EDs, and transport services in their communities. Association with a pediatric intensive care unit at a tertiary care center would also be beneficial. 8. Pediatricians must be available for consultation to local EDs. They must realize that, in many instances, they may represent the physician who is most experienced with caring for the critically ill or injured child. 9. Pediatricians can serve as medical advisors to the EMS systems in their communities. 10. Pediatricians should stay well informed on issues pertaining to EMSC.

Public perceptions of a rural emergency medical services system

INTRODUCTION

To determine the awareness of citizens and physicians concerning the capabilities of a rural emergency medical services (EMS) system.

HYPOTHESIS

Citizens and physicians are unaware of the capabilities of the EMS system.

METHODS

Residents were selected randomly from the local telephone directory and asked a series of structured questions about their EMS agency. A written survey was distributed to area physicians. Chi-square analysis was used to compare the proportion of respondents who knew the available interventions in their community with the proportion of those who did not. Statistical significance was inferred at p < 0.01.

RESULTS

A total of 49% of the citizens were able to identify available skills, and 41.4% of the physicians were able to identify available skills. Physicians were less likely than were the citizens to be able to identify the skills performed by each provider (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that both physicians and the lay public have little understanding of the capabilities of their EMS system.

Influence of emergency medical services systems and prehospital defibrillation on survival of sudden cardiac death victims

This article reviews the influence of emergency medical systems and prehospital defibrillation on survival of sudden cardiac death. The historical perspective and epidemiologic considerations of prehospital sudden cardiac death are highlighted. Factors predictive of successful resuscitation and impact of community activity on sudden death are discussed. Influences of emergency medical services on outcome of prehospital cardiac arrest are reviewed, with emphasis on the role of dispatchers, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics. The recent emergence of prehospital automatic defibrillation by emergency medical technicians, first responders, and lay persons is discussed in depth, as it has great potential to positively influence outcome of prehospital sudden cardiac death.

Layperson CPR--are we training the right people?

A case-control study was undertaken to examine differences in the extent of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training among family members of patients with and without coronary heart disease. There were no significant differences in the proportion of family members of patients with coronary disease (22.0%) who had ever taken a CPR course compared to family members of patients seen in a primary care clinic (25.6%) or in randomly selected neighborhood controls (28.7%). Family members of patients with coronary disease, however, had not only taken fewer CPR courses but had taken these courses considerably further in the past than had respective comparison groups. Moreover only 9% of these family members had taken CPR due to their family member's coronary disease.