Mobile Ambulatory Application Asafny and Traditional Phone Request 997: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Althumairi, Arwa; Alnasser, Zainab; Alsadeq, Sarah; Al-Kahtani, Nouf; Aljaffary, Afnan

doi:10.2147/oaem.s279969

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“… Automatically checks for any recorded allergies the patient may have towards a specific drug [ 4 ]. Saves individual information and location details to facilitate providing ambulatory services to them in case of an emergency [ 16 ]. Provides services to MOH staff, such as promotions, registration for trips and events, and follow up for activities [ 17 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the COVID-19 pandemic in expediting digital health-care transformation: Saudi Arabia's experience

Alkhalifah

Seddiq

Alshehri

et al. 2022

Informatics in Medicine Unlocked

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the COVID-19 pandemic in expediting digital health-care transformation: Saudi Arabia's experience

Alkhalifah

Seddiq

Alshehri

et al. 2022

Informatics in Medicine Unlocked

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“…Second, the ambulances were more likely to respond in less than 8 min for those requests made via the 997-emergency line when compared to the requests made via the mobile application. However, in a similar study comparing responses through 997 and Asefny, no differences in the response times were identified ( 10 ). The differences in both the response to the calls or requests and the timeliness of the responses may be due to the extensive infrastructure behind the 997-emergency service.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The differences in both the response to the calls or requests and the timeliness of the responses may be due to the extensive infrastructure behind the 997-emergency service. The interval between scene arrival and call receipt is the commonly accepted and used parameter in Saudi Arabia to discern the quality of emergency services being offered ( 8 , 10 ). Many countries globally deploy necessary efforts to achieve the response time of 8 min, set by the International Standards Organization ( 3 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only two studies were conducted to examine awareness; one in the western region ( 9 ), where 33% were unaware of the free-of-charge EMS number 997, and another recent study in Riyadh ( 7 ), where 73.2% claimed to know the EMS phone number and 38.5% recalled the number correctly. As Saudi Arabia is experiencing a series of pandemics in the past few decades such as MERS, EBOLA, and COVID-19, the demand for EMS has significantly increased ( 10 ). Thus, it is highly important that people's awareness of emergency numbers must be assessed at regular intervals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public awareness and use of 997 emergency medical service phone number during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aljabri

Albinali

2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundEmergency medical services (EMSs) are an important element of the healthcare system as it provides an opportunity to respond to critical medical conditions and save people's lives. In Saudi Arabia, EMS is offered via the EMS phone number “997” and mobile application “Asefny”.MethodsThis was an observational cross-sectional survey study exploring public awareness and use of the EMS phone number during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. A bivariate analysis was performed to investigate factors affecting awareness and use of the EMS phone number and to compare the EMS acceptance to transport and timelines of ambulance arrival between requests made via the “997” EMS phone number and the “Asefny” mobile application during the country's emergency lockdown.ResultsA total of 805 participants were included in the analysis, where 66% reported awareness of the EMS phone number and 75% of them accurately identified the nature of the service provided by dialing the number. The men who participated, those with a bachelor's degree, with children, and with chronic conditions were more aware of the EMS phone number compared to the other participants. Of the total sample, 46.7% used EMS phone numbers at least one time (ever users). During the COVID-19 lockdown, the EMS accepted to transport 87% of the calls made by 997 phone number and 56.2% of the mobile application requests (P < 0.00). The ambulance arrived in ≤ 8 min in 53.6% of the 997 phone calls and 35.5% of the Asefny mobile requests (P < 0.00).ConclusionsFindings showed commendable levels of awareness and the use of EMS phone numbers. However, the results suggest room for improvement by developing promotional and educational campaigns inspired by the factors identified as influential on both awareness and use. Mobile applications in EMS are promising to improve prehospital emergency service accessibility, which needs to be further investigated to assess its impact on the public health informatics experience.

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Mobile Ambulatory Application Asafny and Traditional Phone Request 997: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Cited by 2 publications

References 10 publications

The role of the COVID-19 pandemic in expediting digital health-care transformation: Saudi Arabia's experience

The role of the COVID-19 pandemic in expediting digital health-care transformation: Saudi Arabia's experience

Public awareness and use of 997 emergency medical service phone number during the COVID-19 pandemic

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