Investigating the Geographic Disparities of Amenable Mortality and Related Ambulance Services in Hungary

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate how amenable mortality and related ambulance services differ on a county level in Hungary. The differences in mortality rates and ambulance services could identify counties where stronger ambulance services are needed. The datasets for 2018 consisted of county level aggregated data of citizens between the ages 15–64. The study examined how both the mortality rates and the ambulance rescue deliveries differ from the national average. The analyses were narrowed down to disease groups, such as acute myocardial infarction, hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. Inequalities were identified regarding the distribution of number of ambulance deliveries, several counties had rates more than double that of the national average. For both mortality and ambulance services some of the counties had significantly better results and others had significantly worse compared to the national average. In Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county’s case, hemorrhagic stroke mortality was significantly higher (1.73 [1.35–2.11]), while ambulance deliveries were significantly lower (0.58 [0.40–0.76]) compared to the national average. The research has shown that regarding the investigated mortality rates and ambulance services there are considerable differences between the counties in Hungary. In this regard policy makers should implement policies to tackle these discrepancies.

The Emergency Performance of the Hungarian Ambulance Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Of the four pandemic waves that have taken place to date in Hungary, the third COVID-19 wave required the greatest effort from the NAS. AMI and stroke are primary issues from a public health point of view [ 24 , 25 ], so it is important for the healthcare system that the ambulance service prioritizes the organization and execution of such rescues [ 13 , 26 ]. A previous British study did not report increased STEMI and stroke rescue activity during the period of the COVID-19 epidemic, but only the effect of the first wave was analyzed in their study [ 16 ].…”

“…The NAS already faced considerable challenges before the pandemic because the Hungarian health indicators are among the worst in the European Union [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the degree to which the COVID-19 wave increased the workload of the “first responders” in health care.…”