ArticleBMJ open2020
Patients' aged ≥65 years dispositions during ambulance assignments, including factors associated with non-conveyance to hospital: a longitudinal and comparative study.
Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patient safety and predictors for subsequent healthcare contact after self-care referral from Swedish ambulance services: a retrospective cohort study.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Article
- A European paramedic curriculum for geriatric emergency medicine developed via a modified Delphi technique.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
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- Collaboration between ambulance services and primary care: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Epidemiology of prehospital emergency calls according to patient transport decision in a middle eastern emergency care environment: Retrospective cohort-based.Health science reports · 2024Article
- Predictive modelling of transport decisions and resources optimisation in pre-hospital setting using machine learning techniques.PloS one · 2024Article
- Understanding patient non-transport decision theories in the pre-hospital setting: a narrative review.International journal of emergency medicine · 2023Review
- Epidemiological Determinants of Patient Non-Conveyance to the Hospital in an Emergency Medical Service Environment.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The Epidemiology of Pre-Hospital EMS Treatment of Geriatric Patients in the City of Vienna-An Overview.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- A matter of participation? A critical incident study of municipal care personnel in situations involving care-dependent older persons and emergency medical services.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
- Satisfaction among non-conveyed patients and significant others when discharged at the scene by the ambulance service: an exploratory cross-sectional survey.BMC emergency medicine · 2022Article
- Documentation of atrial fibrillation among non-conveyed ambulance patients: a new primary prevention opportunity?British paramedic journal · 2022Article
- The dialogue as decision support; lived experiences of extended collaboration when an ambulance is called.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2021Article
- EMS non-conveyance: A safe practice to decrease ED crowding or a threat to patient safety?BMC emergency medicine · 2021Article
- Emergency Medical Service in the Elderly Population in Iran: A Cross-sectional Study Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Gerontology & geriatric medicineArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesPatients ≥65 years old represent 30%-50% of all ambulance assignments (AAs), and the knowledge of which care level they are disposed to is limited and diverging. The aim of this study was therefore to describe and compare characteristics of patients' aged ≥65 years dispositions during AA, including determining changes over time and factors associated with non-conveyance to hospitals.
designA longitudinal and comparative database study.
settingAmbulance service in a Swedish region.
participants32 085 AAs with patients ≥65 years old during the years 2014, 2016 and 2018. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: AAs with interhospital patient transfers and lack of patients' dispositions data. OUTCOME MEASURES: Dependent factors: conveyance and non-conveyance to hospitals. Independent factors: age, sex, symptom, triage level, scene, time, day and season.
resultsThe majority (n=29 060; 90.6%) of patients' dispositions during AA were conveyance to hospitals. In total, the most common symptoms were circulatory (n=4953; 15.5%) and respiratory (n=4529; 14.1%). A significant increase, p<0.01, of non-conveyance to hospitals was shown during 2014 and 2018, from 801 (7.8%) to 1295 (11.4%). Increasing age was associated with decreasing odds of non-conveyance, 85-89 years (OR=0.85, 95 % CI=0.72 to 0.99) and 90 years or older (OR=0.80, 95 % CI=0.68 to 0.93). Several factors were associated with non-conveyance, for example, symptoms of diabetes (OR=8.57, 95 % CI=5.99 to 12.26) and mental disorders (OR=5.71, 95 % CI=3.85 to 8.48) in comparison with infections.
conclusionsThe study demonstrates several patient characteristics, and factors associated with non-conveyance to hospitals, such as age, symptom, triage level, scene, time, day and season. The increasing non-conveyance trend highlights the importance of further studies on optimal care levels for patients ≥65 years old.
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