Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Senior

Major

Music Education, Chemistry (Pre-Med)

List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)

Dr. Jessica Naber

Presentation Format

Poster Presentation

Abstract/Description

Medical Response Times and Their Effect on Prehospital Care

Storm J. Santos, Rural Health Scholar

Dr. Naber, Faculty Advisor

Department of Health Sciences

Abstract

Medical emergencies happen in a variety of different environments. Each environment comes with unique challenges that emergency medical responders must work through to safely alleviate any given medical emergency. This study examines the effect of medical team response times on the overall care of the patient as well as if population density (rural vs urban) further affects the overall care of the patient. This study was inspired by works that compared various environmental factors and their effects on the Emergency Medical System (EMS). After reviewing the works through comparing and compiling all evidence and results that pertained to EMS response times and patient outcomes, the following was concluded:

Four environmental factors were found to alter response times: location of the given emergency, traffic flow, the location of ambulance site, and resources available to the response team. All four factors were shown to double medical response times. When compared to urban and rural population densities, patient mortality rates were found to be more than six times higher in rural areas than that of urban areas. Distance from the ambulance site to the emergency site was found to have the largest effect on patient outcome. The above conclusions were used to predict patient outcomes in emergency medical cases in rural areas.

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Medical Response Times and Their Effect on Prehospital Care

Medical Response Times and Their Effect on Prehospital Care

Storm J. Santos, Rural Health Scholar

Dr. Naber, Faculty Advisor

Department of Health Sciences

Abstract

Medical emergencies happen in a variety of different environments. Each environment comes with unique challenges that emergency medical responders must work through to safely alleviate any given medical emergency. This study examines the effect of medical team response times on the overall care of the patient as well as if population density (rural vs urban) further affects the overall care of the patient. This study was inspired by works that compared various environmental factors and their effects on the Emergency Medical System (EMS). After reviewing the works through comparing and compiling all evidence and results that pertained to EMS response times and patient outcomes, the following was concluded:

Four environmental factors were found to alter response times: location of the given emergency, traffic flow, the location of ambulance site, and resources available to the response team. All four factors were shown to double medical response times. When compared to urban and rural population densities, patient mortality rates were found to be more than six times higher in rural areas than that of urban areas. Distance from the ambulance site to the emergency site was found to have the largest effect on patient outcome. The above conclusions were used to predict patient outcomes in emergency medical cases in rural areas.