Identification and Prioritization of Key Components Influencing Prehospital Emergency Related to Preventable Road Traffic Injuries Deaths in Iran; A Delphi Study

Abstract

<strong>Objective:</strong> To identify and prioritize the key Components of prehospital emergency system to prevent mortality in road traffic injuries.<br /> <strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 25 emergency medicine practitioners, emergency ward nurses, and managers of prehospital emergency centers participated in this adjusted Delphi study in three rounds. After extracting the primary components through reviewing systematic studies and interviewing experts, the Delphi rounds were performed with the presence of experts. The data were analyzed with both qualitative content analysis and quantitative analysis using SPSS20 software. For the analysis and selection of the final priorities, the coefficient of agreement of over 70% was used.<br /> <strong>Results:</strong> After doing three Delphi rounds, in the final Delphi round, 10 superior components were selected respectively as follows: correct history taking of the victim, examining possible cervical injury, the time spent from the first call to arrival of technicians to the scene, the time spent from arriving at the scene to the time of hospital transport, passing of re-education courses by EMS technicians, coordination among the rescue organizations, police, the Red Crescent, fire station, and healthcare organizations, integrated commandership at scene, police attendance in the scene before EMS arrival at the scene, proper ambulance equipment with respect to the required equipment (A, B, C) on the basis of victim's condition, and coordination with the target hospital for patient transport.<br /> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study determined the most applicable managerial methods of prehospital emergency components pertaining to preventable fatal road traffic injuries through empowerment of EMS systems in the fields of victim assessment, time management indices, personnel training, coordination between the involved organs, and the presence of the main commander in the scene.