Scand J Trauma Resus
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Sep 2017
Multicenter StudyFatal poisonings in Northern Finland: causes, incidence, and rural-urban differences.
In this study we evaluate differences between rural and urban areas in the causes and incidence of fatal poisonings. ⋯ There was a higher rate of fatal ethanol poisoning in rural areas and higher rate of fatal poisoning related to psychoactive pharmaceutical products and opioids in urban areas. There were twice as many fatal poisonings in the youngest age group (15-24 years) in urban areas compared to rural areas, and suicide was more common in urban areas.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Sep 2017
We need support! A Delphi study about desirable support during the first year in the emergency medical service.
New and inexperienced emergency medical service (EMS) professionals lack important experience. To prevent medical errors and improve retention there is an urgent need to identify ways to support new professionals during their first year in the EMS. ⋯ Even with extensive formal competence the EMS context poses challenges where a wide variety of desirable forms of support is needed. Support structures should address both personal and professional levels and be EMS context oriented.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Sep 2017
Psychosocial risk and protective factors for the health and well-being of professionals working in emergency and non-emergency medical transport services, identified via questionnaires.
Medical transport (MT) professionals are subject to considerable emotional demands due to their involvement in life-or-death situations and their exposure to the serious health problems of their clients. An increase in the demand for MT services has, in turn, increased interest in the study of the psychosocial risk factors affecting the health of workers in this sector. However, research thus far has not distinguished between emergency (EMT) and non-emergency (non-EMT) services, nor between the sexes. Furthermore, little emphasis has been placed on the protective factors involved. The main objective of the present study is to identify any existing differential exposure - for reasons of work setting (EMT and non-EMT) or of gender - to the various psychosocial risk and protective factors affecting the health of MT workers. ⋯ The significant differences observed between EMT and non-EMT personnel raise important questions regarding the organization of work in companies that carry out both services at the same time in the same territory. The relationships among the set of risk/protective factors suggests a need for further investigation into working conditions as well as a consideration of the workers' sense of coherence and subjective well-being as protective factors against occupational burnout syndrome.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Aug 2017
Does the applied polytrauma definition notably influence outcome and patient population? - a retrospective analysis.
Although the term "polytrauma" has been in use for decades, no generally accepted definition exists. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that different polytrauma definitions applied to a specific patient population result in diverse subgroups of individuals, who in turn present a varying outcome. ⋯ Solely the Berlin definition resulted in a patient number reflecting clinical reality, thus enabling a transparent evaluation of treatment results provided by different institutions and allowing objective comparison of published studies.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Aug 2017
Daily volume of cases in emergency call centers: construction and validation of a predictive model.
Variations in the activity of emergency dispatch centers are an obstacle to the rationalization of resource allocation. Many explanatory factors are well known, available in advance and could predict the volume of emergency cases. Our objective was to develop and evaluate the performance of a predictive model of daily call center activity. ⋯ A large proportion of the variability of the medical emergency call center's case volume can be predicted using readily available covariates.