SynthesisBMJ open2015
Why do patients with 'primary care sensitive' problems access ambulance services? A systematic mapping review of the literature.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 65 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
65 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Why Do People Choose Emergency and Urgent Care Services? A Rapid Review Utilizing a Systematic Literature Search and Narrative Synthesis.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A patient-safety and professional perspective on non-conveyance in ambulance care: a systematic review.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Video-assisted versus telephone-only pediatric emergency calls: a predefined substudy of the cluster randomized CAM-VISION trial.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Trial
- Reorganisation of the Basic Life Support Segment in a Physician-Led Emergency Medical Service: A Retrospective Evaluation of Operational and Clinical Characteristics.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Examining the alignment between an intervention-based paramedic model of care and 9-1-1 utilization.BMC health services research · 2026Observational
- Differences in emergency ambulance use between older and younger individuals in Denmark: a nationwide register-based study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Patient safety in non-conveyance within prehospital emergency medical services: a register-based study.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Modeling IN out-of-hospital emergency medical services-a scoping review of approaches and applications.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Why do patients seek emergency care for problems that could be managed in primary care? A scoping review.Family practice · 2025Article
- Quality and outcomes framework achievement and unplanned admissions for cardiovascular disease.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Balancing care needs - a qualitative study on prehospital emergency nurses' experiences of providing self-care advice and home referrals for frail older patients.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Description of patients presenting with mental illness in emergency medical services: a retrospective observational study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Observational
- Observational
- Is non-conveyance solo-ambulances a useful mean to meet the increasing demand for emergency medical services in Denmark?BMC health services research · 2025Article
- An analysis of ambulance re-contacts after non-conveyance: a retrospective cohort study in the Netherlands.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Emergency call utilization over a 10-years period: an observational study in Region Zealand, Denmark, 2013-2022.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Observational
- Article
- Racing against time: Emergency ambulance dispatches and response times, a register-based study in Region Zealand, Denmark, 2013-2022.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Article
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveEmergency ambulance use for problems that could be managed in primary care continues to rise owing to complex reasons that are poorly understood. The objective of this systematic review is to draw together published evidence across a variety of study methodologies and settings to gain a better understanding of why patients seek help from ambulance services for these problems.
designSystematic searches were undertaken across the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Health Management Information Consortium and Health Management Information Service publication databases. Google Scholar, Web of Science, OpenSigle, EThOS and DART databases were also systematically searched for reports, proceedings, book chapters and theses, along with hand-searching of grey literature sources. Studies were included if they reported on findings examining patient, carer, health professional or service management interactions with ambulance services for primary care problems. All study methodologies and perspectives were of interest. Data were extracted, quality assessed and systematically mapped according to key findings through generation of an iterative framework.
resultsA total of 31 studies met inclusion criteria. Findings were summarised across 5 broad categories: factors associated with individual patients; actions of care-givers and bystanders; population-level factors; health infrastructure factors; challenges faced by health professionals. A number of subcategories were developed to explore these factors in more detail.
conclusionsThis review reports important factors that may impact on ambulance use for primary care problems across a global setting, including demographic measures associated with deprivation, minority status and individual social circumstances. Categorising ambulance calls for primary care problems as 'inappropriate' is context dependant and may be unhelpful. Potential implications for triage and risk management strategies are discussed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.