Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T08:26:09.779Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pre-hospital Emergency Service Challenges in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2022

Mohammad Heidari Open the ORCID record for Mohammad Heidari [Opens in a new window] ,
Fatemeh Aliakbari ,
Sadegh Heydarpoor ,
Batool Nehrir  and
Salman Yadollahi
Mohammad Heidari
Affiliation:
Community-Oriented Nursing Midwifery Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
Fatemeh Aliakbari
Affiliation:
Community-Oriented Nursing Midwifery Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
Sadegh Heydarpoor
Affiliation:
Disaster and Emergency Medical Management Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
Batool Nehrir
Affiliation:
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Salman Yadollahi*
Affiliation:
Disaster and Emergency Medical Management Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
*
Corresponding author: Salman Yadollahi, E-mail: salmanyadollahi59@gmail.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

With the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the workload of the Iran’s health-care system along with the Pre-hospital Emergency Service (PHES) increased significantly so that Iranian fledgling emergency system had never experienced such a crisis. With regard to the importance of the function of PHES as the front-line staff of Iran’s health system and its role in controlling the recent epidemic crisis, this study was conducted to identify the challenges of PHES function in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

The study was conducted with qualitative approach through content analysis in 2021. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Sampling was purposive and continued until data saturation. After 24 interviews, the data were saturated. The extracted codes were thoroughly prepared as a data pool. After encoding all available data, the related codes were categorized into a single theme. After extracting the themes, a network of themes, related to the research topic, was drawn, and then, the relationship between the themes was analyzed.

Results:

Data analysis undertaken for the qualitative study resulted in the identification of 4 main themes included: challenges related to facilities and equipment, living with uncertainty, professional and organizational capabilities, and burnout.

Conclusions:

PHES personnel have an important and key role in providing care to patients during COVID-19 epidemic period. Individual and systemic challenges were among the most important issues in the experiences of these personnel. These challenges require organizational planning and special attention of health policy-makers to maintain the staff’s physical and mental health during the pandemic and the possible crises ahead.

Keywords

Pre-hospital emergency service (PHES)COVID-19Iran
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e217
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Wang, D, Hu, B, Hu, C, et al. Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA. 2020;323(11):1061-1069.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhou, F, Yu, T, Du, R, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395(10229):1054-1062.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhai, Y, Wang, Y, Zhang, M, et al. From isolation to coordination: how can telemedicine help combat the COVID-19 outbreak? In: Wang Y, Wang WYC, Yan Z, Zhang D, eds. Digital Health and Medical Analytics. DHA 2020. Communications in Computer and Information Science, Vol 1412. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-16-3631-8_12CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kucharski, AJ, Russell, TW, Diamond, C, et al. Early dynamics of transmission and control of COVID-19: a mathematical modelling study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(5):553-558.Google ScholarPubMed
Stratton, SJ. COVID-19: not a simple public health emergency. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2020;35(2):119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lai, C-C, Shih, T-P, Ko, W-C, et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): the epidemic and the challenges. Int J Antimicrobial Agents. 2020;55(3):105924.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jadidi, A, Safarabadi, M, Irannejhad, B, et al. Level of patients’ satisfaction from emergency medical services in Markazi province; a cross sectional study. Iran J Emerg Med. 2016;3(2):58-65.Google Scholar
Saghafinia, M, Motamedi, MHK. Iranian EMS system. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(4):437.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, W, Cao, Q, Qin, L, et al. Clinical characteristics and imaging manifestations of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a multi-center study in Wenzhou city, Zhejiang, China. J Infect. 2020;80(4):388-393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bidgoli, HH, Bogg, L, Hasselberg, M. Pre-hospital trauma care resources for road traffic injuries in a middle-income country—a province based study on need and access in Iran. Injury. 2011;42(9):879-884.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dadashzadeh, A, Rahmani, A, Hassankhani, H, et al. Iranian pre-hospital emergency care nurses’ strategies to manage workplace violence: a descriptive qualitative study. J Nurs Manage. 2019;27(6):1190-1199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shakeri, K, Jafari, M, Khankeh, H, et al. History and structure of the fourth leading emergency medical service in the world; a review article. Arch Acad Emerg Med. 2019;7(1):e17.Google ScholarPubMed
Farahmandnia, B, Hamdanieh, L, Aghababaeian, H. COVID-19 and unfinished mourning. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2020;35(4):464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mastaneh, Z, Mouseli, A. Investigating challenges of pre-hospital emergency services information system with a systemic approach: case study from the south of Iran. J Modern Med Inf Sci. 2019;5(1):41-49.Google Scholar
National Medical Emergency Organization, Ministry of Health & Medical Education. Accessed June 17, 2022. https://www.115.ir.Google Scholar
Hesse-Biber, S. Qualitative approaches to mixed methods practice. Qual Inq. 2010;16(6):455-468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandelowski, M. Whatever happened to qualitative description? Res Nurs Health. 2000;23(4):334-340.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Graneheim, UH, Lundman, B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today. 2004;24(2):105-112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elo, S, Kyngäs, H. The qualitative content analysis process. J Adv Nurs. 2008;62(1):107-115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kyngäs, H. Qualitative research and content analysis. The Application of Content Analysis in Nursing Science Research. Springer; 2020:3-11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Speziale, HS, Streubert, HJ, Carpenter, DR. Qualitative Research in Nursing: Advancing the Humanistic Imperative. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011.Google Scholar
Chang, D, Xu, H, Rebaza, A, et al. Protecting health-care workers from subclinical coronavirus infection. Lancet Respir Med. 2020;8(3):e13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sun, N, Wei, L, Shi, S, et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(6):592-598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moradi, Y, Baghaei, R, Hosseingholipour, K, et al. Challenges experienced by ICU nurses throughout the provision of care for COVID-19 patients: a qualitative study. J Nurs Manag. 2021;29(5):1159-1168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bijani, M, Abedi, S, Karimi, S, et al. Major challenges and barriers in clinical decision-making as perceived by emergency medical services personnel: a qualitative content analysis. BMC Emerg Med. 2021;21(1):1-12.Google ScholarPubMed
Ferron, R, Agarwal, G, Cooper, R, et al. The effect of COVID-19 on emergency medical service call volumes and patient acuity: a cross-sectional study in Niagara, Ontario. BMC Emerg Med. 2021;21(1):1-8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Qureshi, MN, AlRajhi, A. Challenge of COVID-19 crisis managed by emergency department of a big tertiary centre in Saudi Arabia. Int J Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2020;7(3):147-152.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sun, N, Wei, L, Shi, S, et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(6):592-598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rezaee, N, Mardani-Hamooleh, M, Seraji, M. Nurses’ perception of ethical challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19: a qualitative analysis. J Med Ethics Hist Med. 2020;13:23.Google ScholarPubMed
Jia, Y, Chen, O, Xiao, Z, et al. Nurses’ ethical challenges caring for people with COVID-19: a qualitative study. Nurs Ethics. 2021;28(1):33-45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khasne, RW, Dhakulkar, BS, Mahajan, HC, et al. Burnout among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in India: results of a questionnaire-based survey. Indian J Crit Care Med. 2020;24(8):664-671.Google ScholarPubMed
Mehtarpour, M, Jaafaripooyan, E. Discrimination and dissatisfaction among nurses is a threat for objectives of policies? Iran J Public Health. 2020;49(4):800-801.Google ScholarPubMed
Haddadi, M, Sarvar, M, Soori, H, et al. The pattern of pre-hospital medical service delivery in Iran; a cross sectional study. Emerg (Tehran). 2017;5(1):e57.Google ScholarPubMed