Related Experiment Videos
Effect of a social services intervention among 911 repeat users
Steven J Weiss1, Amy A Ernst, Margaret Ong
1Department of Emergency Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. sweiss52@aol.com
The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|July 21, 2005
Summary
Social services interventions show limited success for frequent emergency medical services (EMS) users. Most patients were unable to engage with social services, indicating a need for more targeted approaches for frequent EMS users.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Emergency Medicine
- Social Work
Background:
- Frequent users of emergency medical services (EMS) pose a significant challenge to healthcare systems.
- Understanding the barriers to social services intervention for these individuals is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the potential benefit of social services intervention for frequent EMS 911 users.
- To identify reasons why frequent EMS users may not engage with social services.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study evaluated non-homeless frequent EMS users (over 3 times in 1 month).
- Social workers contacted eligible patients to gather data on demographics, intervention eligibility, and transport reasons.
Main Results:
- Eighty-four patients were eligible; only 12% could enter a social services intervention.
- Key reasons for non-engagement included not being home, not at the address, or refusal.
- Primary reasons for frequent EMS use were cardiac issues (24%), respiratory problems (25%), and seizures (14%).
Conclusions:
- The majority of frequent EMS users could not access social services interventions.
- Targeted interventions are necessary to effectively support this patient population.
- Cardiac, respiratory, and seizure-related conditions were the main drivers for frequent EMS utilization.