Understanding Safety in Prehospital Emergency Medical Services for Children

摘要

ObjectiveFor over a decade, the field of medicine has recognized the importance of studying and designing strategies to prevent safety issues in hospitals and clinics. However, there has been less focus on understanding safety in prehospital emergency medical services, particularly in regard to children. Roughly 27.7 million (or 27%) of the annual ED visits are by children under the age of 19, and about 2 million of these children reach the hospital via EMS. This paper adds to our qualitative understanding of the nature and contributors to safety events in the prehospital emergency care of children.