ArticleBMC emergency medicine2024
Association between social support and ambulance use among older people in Japan: an empirical cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Geospatial disparities in emergency medical utilization and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status in Yamato City, Japan.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Article
- The 24-Hour Window: How Time to Admission Reshapes the Impact of Surgical Delay on Mortality in Elderly Hip Fracture.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAmbulance service demand and utilization are increasing worldwide. To address this issue, the factors that affect ambulance use must be identified. Few studies have examined factors that can intervene and thus reduce the frequency of ambulance use. This study aimed to examine the association between social support and ambulance use among older adults in Japan. We hypothesize that social support is associated with reduced ambulance use.
methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. In December 2019 and January 2020, we collaborated with individuals aged 65 years or above with no long-term care needs. A total of 24,581 participants were included in the analysis. The objective and explanatory variables were ambulance use and social support, respectively. Binomial regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsSocial support was associated with ambulance use. People who had no one to listen to their complaints or worries were significantly more likely to use ambulance services than those who did (OR [95% CI] = 1.26 [1.03-1.53]). People with no one to take care of them when they were ill were also significantly more likely to use ambulance services than those who had someone to provide care (1.15 [1.01-1.31]). Moreover, the results of binomial logistic regression analysis indicated that individuals who called an ambulance but were not hospitalized had significantly lower social support compared to those who did not call an ambulance.
conclusionsThe results suggest that the presence and quality of social support play a significant role in ambulance use among older adults in Japan. Our findings can help policymakers to plan and implement strategies for reducing the burden on emergency medical care.
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