Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T18:58:44.741Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effect of Heat Events on Prehospital and Retrieval Service Utilization in Rural and Remote Areas: A Scoping Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2021

Elen O’Donnell Open the ORCID record for Elen O’Donnell [Opens in a new window] ,
Bridget Honan Open the ORCID record for Bridget Honan [Opens in a new window] ,
Simon Quilty  and
Rebecca Schultz Open the ORCID record for Rebecca Schultz [Opens in a new window]
Elen O’Donnell
Affiliation:
Rural Generalist Trainee, Ochre Medical Centre, St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
Bridget Honan*
Affiliation:
Emergency and Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine Physician, Central Australian Retrieval Service, Alice Springs, NT, Australia
Simon Quilty
Affiliation:
Senior Staff Specialist and Director of Physician Training, Alice Springs Hospital, Alice Springs, NT, Australia; PhD Candidate, Heat and Health, ANU Research School of Population Health, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Rebecca Schultz
Affiliation:
Clinical Nurse Specialist Research, Alice Springs Hospital, Alice Springs, NT, Australia; Adjunct Lecturer Nursing, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
*
Bridget Honan, BSc, MBBS, FACEM, MPH Emergency/Prehospital/Retrieval Medicine Physician Central Australian Retrieval Service Alice Springs, NT, Australia0870 E-mail: dr.bridget.honan@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

It is well-established that heatwaves increase demand for emergency transport in metropolitan areas; however, little is known about the impact of heat events on demand for prehospital retrieval services in rural and remote areas, or how heatwaves are defined in this context.

Inclusion Criteria:

Papers were eligible for inclusion if they reported on the impact of a heat event on the activity of a prehospital and retrieval service in a rural or remote area.

Methods:

A search of PubMed, Cochrane, Science Direct, CINAHL, and Google Scholar databases was undertaken on August 18, 2020 using search terms related to emergency medical transport, extreme heat, and rural or remote. Data relevant to the impact of heat on retrieval service activity were extracted, as well as definitions of extreme heat.

Results:

Two papers were identified, both from Australia. Both found that heat events increased the number of road ambulance call-outs. Both studies used the Excess Heat Factor (EHF) to define heatwave periods of interest.

Conclusions:

This review found almost no primary literature on demand for prehospital retrieval services in rural and remote areas, and no data specifically related to aeromedical transport. The research did recognize the disproportionate impact of heat-related increase in service demand on Australian rural and regional health services. With the effects of climate change already being felt, there is an urgent need for more research and action in this area.

Keywords

ambulancesclimate changeEmergency Medical Servicesextreme heat
Type
Research Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , December 2021 , pp. 782 - 787
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

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

Masson-Delmotte, V, Zhai, P, Pörtner, HO, et al. Global Warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5°C Above Pre-Industrial Levels and Related Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Pathways, in the Context of Strengthening the Global Response to the Threat of Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Efforts to Eradicate Poverty. Geneva, Switzerland: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; 2018.Google Scholar
Coates, L, Haynes, K, O’Brien, J, et al. Exploring 167 years of vulnerability: an examination of extreme heat events in Australia 1844-2010. Environ Sci Policy. 2014;42:33–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gronlund, CJ, Zanobetti, A, Schwartz, JD, et al. Heat, heat waves, and hospital admissions among the elderly in the United States, 1992-2006. Environ Health Perspect. 2014;122(11):1187–1192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Toloo, GS, Yu, W, Aitken, P, et al. The impact of heatwaves on emergency department visits in Brisbane, Australia: a time series study. Criti Care (London). 2014;18(2):R69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaffer, A, Muscatello, D, Broome, R, et al. Emergency department visits, ambulance calls, and mortality associated with an exceptional heat wave in Sydney, Australia, 2011: a time-series analysis. Environ Health. 2012;11(1):3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dolney, TJ, Sheridan, SC. The relationship between extreme heat and ambulance response calls for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Environ Res. 2006;101(1):94–103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thornes, JE, Fisher, PA, Rayment-Bishop, T, et al. Ambulance call-outs and response times in Birmingham and the impact of extreme weather and climate change. Emerg Med J. 2014;31(3):220–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhan, Z-Y, Yu, Y-M, Qian, J, et al. Effects of ambient temperature on ambulance emergency call-outs in the subtropical city of Shenzhen, China. PloS One. 2018;13(11):e0207187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bureau of Meteorology. Understanding heatwaves 2021. http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/heatwave/knowledge-centre/understanding.shtml. Accessed March 31, 2021.Google Scholar
Cheng, J, Xu, Z, Bambrick, H, et al. Cardiorespiratory effects of heatwaves: a systematic review and meta-analysis of global epidemiological evidence. Environ Res. 2019;177:108610.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y, Liu, Y, Ye, D, et al. High temperatures and emergency department visits in 18 sites with different climatic characteristics in China: risk assessment and attributable fraction identification. Environ Int. 2020;136:105486.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, R, Hornigold, R, Page, L, et al. Associations between high ambient temperatures and heat waves with mental health outcomes: a systematic review. Public Health. 2018;161:171–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benmarhnia, T, Deguen, S, Kaufman, JS, et al. Review Article: vulnerability to heat-related mortality: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiology. 2015;26(6):781–793.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van der Linden, N, Longden, T, Richards, JR, et al. The use of an ‘acclimatization’ heatwave measure to compare temperature-related demand for emergency services in Australia, Botswana, Netherlands, Pakistan, and USA. PloS One. 2019;14(3):e0214242.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Longden, T. Temperature-related mortality and climate change in Australia. Lancet Planet Health. 2019;3(3):e121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munn, Z, Peters, MDJ, Stern, C, et al. Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2018;18(1):143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tricco, AC, Lillie, E, Zarin, W, et al. PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169(7):467–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muula, A. How do we define ‘rurality’ in the teaching on medical demography? Rural Remote Health. 2007;7(1):653.Google ScholarPubMed
Wakerman, J. Defining remote health. Australian J Rural Health. 2004;12(5):210–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moher, D, Liberati, A, Tetzlaff, J, et al. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA Statement. PLOS Med. 2009;6(7):e1000097.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jegasothy, E, McGuire, R, Nairn, J, et al. Extreme climatic conditions and health service utilization across rural and metropolitan New South Wales. Int J Biometeorol. 2017;61(8):1359–1370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, S, Venugopal, K, Nitschke, M, et al. Regional morbidity and mortality during heatwaves in South Australia. Int J Biometeorol. 2018;62(10):1911–1926.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nairn, JR, Fawcett, RJB. The excess heat factor: a metric for heatwave intensity and its use in classifying heatwave severity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014;12(1):227–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schulte, PA, Bhattacharya, A, Butler, CR, et al. Advancing the framework for considering the effects of climate change on worker safety and health. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2016;13(11):847–865.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pendrey, CG, Quilty, S, Gruen, RL, et al. Is climate change exacerbating health-care workforce shortages for underserved populations? Lancet Planet Health. 2021;5(4):e183–e184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryan-Fogarty, Y, O’Regan, B, Moles, R. Greening healthcare: systematic implementation of environmental programs in a university teaching hospital. J Cleaner Produc. 2016;126:248–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelton, CL, McBain, SC, Mortimer, F, et al. A new role for anesthetists in environmentally-sustainable healthcare. Anaesthesia. 2019;74(9):1091–1094.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malik, A, Lenzen, M, McAlister, S, et al. The carbon footprint of Australian health care. Lancet Planet Health. 2018;2(1):e27–e35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

O’Donnell et al. supplementary material

O’Donnell et al. supplementary material

Download O’Donnell et al. supplementary material(File)
File 44 KB