Migration background and overall satisfaction with pre-hospital emergency care

This study was designed to explore how sociodemographic factors of the patient/patient's relatives including migrant status and service-related aspects influence overall satisfaction with pre-hospital emergency care.

A descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 218 persons (57 migrants and 161 nonmigrants) who had received pre-hospital emergency care directly (as a patient) or indirectly (as a significant other) in Germany. Sociodemographic data and service-related aspects were entered into a hierarchical regression analysis in order to identify their influence on overall satisfaction.

Altogether, 58.3% of the variance of the overall satisfaction with pre-hospital emergency care can be explained by the final model. Of this sum, only 9.8% is explained by sociodemographic factors and 47.3% by service-related aspects. Migrant status per se did not show any significant influence, whereas no or a basic level of German language skills is significantly negatively associated with overall satisfaction. Professional and emotional/social competencies of the emergency personnel are significantly positively associated with overall satisfaction with pre-hospital emergency care.

Sociodemographic-related factors, excepted from language skills, seem to be largely unrelated to overall satisfaction with pre-hospital emergency care. Service-related factors such as the emergency personnel's professional and social/emotional competencies appear as the main factors determining overall satisfaction with pre-hospital emergency care.