Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38728683›Full record

ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2024

Ambulance Services Attendance for Mental Health and Overdose Before and During COVID-19 in Canada and the United Kingdom: Interrupted Time Series Study.

Graham Law, Rhiannon Cooper, Melissa Pirrie, Richard Ferron, Brent McLeod, Robert Spaight, A Niroshan Siriwardena, Gina Agarwal, UK Canada Emergency Calls Data Analysis and GEospatial Mapping (EDGE) Consortium

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Graham LawCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-7904-0264
Rhiannon CooperDepartment of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-9076-5178
Melissa PirrieDepartment of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1407-4775
Richard FerronDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-0711-5746
Brent McLeodHamilton Paramedic Service, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-2297-4311
Robert SpaightEast Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-4361-5876
A Niroshan SiriwardenaCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-2484-8201
Gina AgarwalDepartment of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5691-4675
UK Canada Emergency Calls Data Analysis and GEospatial Mapping (EDGE) Consortium *Community and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health and health care systems worldwide.

objectiveThis study examined the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on ambulance attendances for mental health and overdose, comparing similar regions in the United Kingdom and Canada that implemented different public health measures.

methodsAn interrupted time series study of ambulance attendances was conducted for mental health and overdose in the United Kingdom (East Midlands region) and Canada (Hamilton and Niagara regions). Data were obtained from 182,497 ambulance attendance records for the study period of December 29, 2019, to August 1, 2020. Negative binomial regressions modeled the count of attendances per week per 100,000 population in the weeks leading up to the lockdown, the week the lockdown was initiated, and the weeks following the lockdown. Stratified analyses were conducted by sex and age.

resultsAmbulance attendances for mental health and overdose had very small week-over-week increases prior to lockdown (United Kingdom: incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.002, 95% CI 1.002-1.003 for mental health). However, substantial changes were observed at the time of lockdown; while there was a statistically significant drop in the rate of overdose attendances in the study regions of both countries (United Kingdom: IRR 0.573, 95% CI 0.518-0.635 and Canada: IRR 0.743, 95% CI 0.602-0.917), the rate of mental health attendances increased in the UK region only (United Kingdom: IRR 1.125, 95% CI 1.031-1.227 and Canada: IRR 0.922, 95% CI 0.794-1.071). Different trends were observed based on sex and age categories within and between study regions.

conclusionsThe observed changes in ambulance attendances for mental health and overdose at the time of lockdown differed between the UK and Canada study regions. These results may inform future pandemic planning and further research on the public health measures that may explain observed regional differences.

Indexed as

AmbulancesCOVID-19Drug OverdoseInterrupted Time Series AnalysisAdolescentAdultAgedCanadaFemaleHumansMaleMental DisordersMiddle AgedUnited KingdomYoung Adultadministrative dataageambulanceCanadaCOVID-19emergency medical servicesemergency servicelockdownmental healthoverdosepandemic planningsexthe United Kingdom

Identifiers

PMID38728683
PMCPMC11090162

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Registered trials

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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.