Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/52422
Title: | Emergency medical services in rural and urban Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study of Red Crescent emergency personnel' perceptions of workforce and patient factors impacting effective delivery |
Contributor(s): | Alanazy, Ahmed Ramdan M (author); Fraser, John (author); Wark, Stuart (author) |
Publication Date: | 2022-11 |
Early Online Version: | 2022-05-30 |
Open Access: | Yes |
DOI: | 10.1111/hsc.13859 |
Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/52422 |
Abstract: | | Individuals who experience a traumatic injury or an acute illness are often reliant on initial healthcare assessment and support from a pre-hospital emergency medical service (EMS). These community-based support models perform a vital role in the provision of life-saving support, but research indicates that the availability, accessibility and resources of EMS are not equivalent in rural and urban areas, and there has been little recognition of the issues facing rural EMS provision outside of the USA, Europe and Australia. The purpose of the current study was to examine the lived experiences of Saudi Arabian EMS personnel, defined as emergency medical technicians, paramedics and local station managers. A semi-structured interview approach was used to collect data from 20 interviewees (10 each with rural and urban personnel) in the Riyadh region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This methodology was used to identify the key issues that these staff face in their day-to-day work practice and ascertain factors that may lead to service delivery issues in rural and urban areas. Data analyses identified three thematic categories impacting EMS delivery" two of these, Personnel Factors and Patient Factors, are the focus of this paper. The participants noted a number of key issues, including a lack of appropriate local training and limited resources in rural areas, as well as general areas of concern regarding the wider EMS staff demographic makeup and poor public awareness about the exact role of the EMS. Three key recommendations arising from this study include specialised training and ongoing accessible education for rural EMS staff to allow for better support for patients" consideration of supplementing the current EMS with additional external specialist staff" and the development and implementation of national public education programmes focusing on the role of the EMS within the community.
Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Source of Publication: | Health and Social Care in the Community, 30(6), p. e4556-e4563 |
Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
Place of Publication: | United Kingdom |
ISSN: | 1365-2524 0966-0410 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 420321 Rural and remote health services 320207 Emergency medicine 420305 Health and community services |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 200508 Rural and remote area health 200204 Health inequalities 200408 Injury prevention and control |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes |
HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
Appears in Collections: | Journal Article School of Rural Medicine
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