Observational studyScandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine2026
Geographic distribution of EMS missions and patient conditions in suburban and rural Sweden: a retrospective observational study.
Observational study in Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Children and young people assessed by ambulance clinicians in a sparsely populated circumpolar region: non-conveyance and subsequent healthcare contacts in Northern Sweden.International journal of circumpolar health · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveSwedish emergency medical services (EMS) faces challenges due to increased demand and limited resources. In Sweden, EMS have experienced a general increase in workload, with longer response times, and limited access to and capacity of receiving facilities. The geographical distribution of EMS events remains unknown. The study aims to investigate the occurrence of EMS missions and assessment of patients' conditions by mapping and comparing the geographical distribution between a Swedish suburban and a rural setting.
methodsA descriptive observational study assessed patient conditions and geographical distributions of EMS events in a medium-sized region in Sweden in 2018. Data was retrieved from ambulance medical records.
resultsEMS assessed 24,672 patients, of whom two-thirds had non-urgent conditions. Almost half of the patients were females, and the median age of all patients was 72 years. Suburban areas had a slightly higher proportion of urgent dispatch priority than rural areas, while patient contact times were considerably longer in rural areas. There were no notable differences in suburban versus rural areas regarding which conditions were most common. Overall, 29% of patients were left on-scene after EMS assessment. Rural units more often left patients on-scene compared with suburban units.
conclusionsOverall, the EMS events were broadly equal between suburban and rural areas. Despite longer transport and patient contact times in rural areas, response times were still similar. However, patients in rural areas are assessed and left on-site to a greater extent compared to patients in suburban areas, who are instead transported to hospitals for discharge.
trial registrationNot applicable.
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