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Emergency Medical Services Resource Capacity and Competency Amid COVID-19 in the United States: Findings from a National Study
10 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2020
More...Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate available resources, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) availability, sanitation practices, institutional policies, and opinions among EMS professionals in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic using a self-report survey questionnaire.
METHODS: An online 42-question multiple choice survey was randomly distributed to various active Emergency Medical Services (EMS) paid personnel in all 50 U.S. states including the District of Columbia (n=130). We approximate a 95% confidence interval (± 0.085).
RESULTS: An overwhelming number of EMS providers report having limited access to N95 respirators, receiving little or no benefits from COVID-19 related work, and report no institutional policy on social distancing practices despite CDC recommendations. For providers who do have access to N95 respirators, 31% report having to use the same mask for 1 week or longer. Approximately ⅓ of the surveyed participants were unsure of when a COVID-19 patient is infectious. The data suggests regular decontamination of EMS equipment after each patient contact is not a regular practice.
DISCUSSION: Current practices to educate EMS providers on appropriate response to the novel coronavirus may not be sufficient, and future patients may benefit from a nationally established COVID-19 EMS response protocol. Further investigation on whether current EMS practices are contributing to the spread of infection is warranted. The data reveals concerning deficits in COVID-19 related education and administrative protocols which pose as a serious public health concern that should be urgently addressed.
FUNDING STATEMENT: This work received no specific grant from any funding agency and was financially supported by crowd funding.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
ETHICS APPROVAL STATEMENT: An ethics approval was obtained and certified by the Institutional Review Board.
Keywords: prehospital care; EMS; emergency medicine; infectious disease; COVID-19; public health; novel coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2
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