Assessment of Emergency Medical Services Response Time and Associated Factors in Emergency Patient Transportation at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2019
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2019-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Background: Emergency Response Time is an interval between call receipt and arrival of the first
Emergency vehicle to the scene which should be less than 8 minute. As a result of the emerging
significance of time-sensitive medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, stroke, and acute
myocardial infarction and nonmedical emergency like trauma, it has been the leading measure of
Emergency Medical System performance quality in many countries. Despite its importance, little
was studied about the ERT and associated factors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the
Emergency Response Time (ERT) and identify associated factors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2019.
Method: Facility based cross-sectional study design was conducted in Addis Ababa City Fire and
Emergency Prevention and Control Authority and Red Cross Association ambulance service, from
April 2019 to May 2019. Data was collected by observation and interview using structured
checklist. Then it was cleaned, coded, entered in to EPI data v.3.1 and exported to SPSS version
25 statistical package for analysis. Descriptive statistics used in order to describe data and both
bivariate and multivariable logistic regression used to examine associated factors. A factor with pvalue
<
0.05 was
considered
as
statistically
significant.
Mean
ERT, COR,
AOR
and
95%
CI
were
used
to report
the finding.
Result: Among 345 study subjects three-forth were females with the mean age of 28.8 (SD+ 13).
Labor was main reason 206 (59.7%) for seeking of ambulance. Only 47 (13.6 %) case had life
threatening critical emergency.
This study determined mean ERT 11.40 (SD + 6.5) and among study participants only 39.7 %
participants had ERT < 8 minute. Distance to the scene > 6 km AOR 17.34 (7.16, 41.98), dispatch
time interval >2 min AOR 15.79 (5.95, 41.93) and heavy traffic conditions AOR 16.33 (4.49, 59.43)
are found to be the major determent factors of ERT. Age, level of consciousness, severity of the
illness and weather condition were also shown significant association.
Conclusion and recommendation: The mean emergency response time interval was above the
standard and the majority of the patients were transported under delayed ERT. Scene distance,
dispatch time interval, heavy traffic condition, time of call, and has shown associations. Action
like pre-allocation of ambulance, installing emergency communication device, drivers and public
awareness creation and training to ambulance nurse should be done to decrease ERT.
Description
Keywords
ERT, Ambulance Response Time; Emergency Medical Services; Access to health care; time-to-treatment;