Perception and Satisfaction of Patients’ Relatives Regarding Emergency Medical Service Response Times: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose Delays in emergency medical service (EMS) directly affect life-threatening emergencies. Delays also indirectly affect the perception and satisfaction of patients and their relatives, which are important qualitative EMS indicators. Patients and Methods For this cross-sectional study, data was collected from May 1 to July 31, 2021, through questionnaires developed by the authors. The study sample consisted of relatives of EMS patients. The primary objective was the perceived EMS response time, which was compared to the actual EMS response time. The secondary objective was the relatives’ perceptions and feelings regarding the waiting time. Results During study period, the sample was 165 relatives of patients managed by EMS. The mean perceived EMS response time of 18.28 ± 8.10 min was significantly longer than the mean actual response time of 14.44 ± 4.86 min (p < 0.001). The positive correlation between the perceived and actual times was low but statistically significant (p < 0.001) with a correlation coefficient of 0.315 (95% CI 0.170–0.446). The overall satisfaction level was high ( , standard deviation 0.63). The mean perceived EMS response time compares with the high-to-highest satisfaction levels of relatives was significantly lower than the mean perceived EMS response time compares with the lowest-to-middle satisfaction levels of relatives (17.83 ± 8.05 and 22.50 ± 7.47 min, respectively; p = 0.028). Conclusion The perceived EMS response time was longer than the actual response time, with a low correlation. However, the relatives’ overall satisfaction level was high.

Ambulance service satisfaction level and associated factors among service users in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…This study's findings supplement the limitations of prehospital emergency care in Africa that contribute to emergency center mortality. This result of users' satisfaction considerably contradicts the majority of studies conducted regarding ambulance service satisfaction that produced a ceiling effect stating a high ambulance service user satisfaction portfolio [3,4,8,10,11,[22][23][24][25][26]. This discrepancy in satisfaction level might be due to the difference in ambulance service quality that exists among developed and developing countries, given that almost all the literature referenced was conducted in well-developed countries and there is a literature gap regarding ambulance service satisfaction in developing countries to compare to.…”

“…Globally, among the vast variety of components of the healthcare system, urgency and emergency health services were given priority in health institutions' qualification processes, and these services were recognized as one of the main sources of complaints by the population [6]. EMSs (emergency medical services) are the most important part of the healthcare system; patient satisfaction indicates the degree of adaptation of appropriate quality and quantity of services subjectively from their perspective [10][11][12]. Besides, identifying satisfaction and dissatisfaction with emergency care services might be represent patients' views about the overall condition of the healthcare delivery system [11,13].…”

Understanding patient non-transport decision theories in the pre-hospital setting: a narrative review

“…Additional deterrents encompass protracted wait times encountered within the emergency department. In some instances, PIRs are precipitated by patient contentment with the caliber of pre-hospital medical assistance they receive, juxtaposed against their dissatisfaction with the drawn-out procedural rigmarole anticipated at the emergency department [ 7 , 56 , 59 , 60 ]. In a recent Middle-East study conducted by the National Ambulance Service of Riyadh, 35.5% of the pre-hospital emergency calls ended with PIR, compared with only 8.8% of patient non-conveyance due to CID [ 56 ].…”