A Systematic Literature Review of Hispanic Adults' Experiences With the Emergency Medical Services System in the United States Between 2000 and 2021. Issue 3 (4th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Melgoza, Esmeralda; Cardenas, Valeria; Enguídanos, Susan; Vargas Bustamante, Arturo; Beltrán-Sánchez, Hiram
• Is Part Of: Medical care. Volume 61:Issue 3(2023)
• Page Start: 150
• Page End: 156
• Publication Date: 2023-03-04
• Subjects: emergency medical services -- prehospital care -- Hispanic health -- health disparities; Economics, Medical -- Periodicals; Insurance, Health -- Periodicals; Santé, Services de -- Administration -- Périodiques; Soins médicaux -- Périodiques; Medical economics -- Periodicals; Health insurance -- Periodicals; Medical economics -- United States -- Periodicals; Health insurance -- United States -- Periodicals; Comprehensive Health Care -- Periodicals; Personal Health Services -- Periodicals; Gezondheidszorg; Économie de la santé -- Périodiques; Santé, Services de -- Périodiques; Health insurance; Medical economics; United States; Periodicals; 362.10973
• DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001817
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-7079

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: This systematic literature review presents an overview of studies that assess the experiences of Hispanic adults with (1) activation of emergency medical services (EMS); (2) on-scene care provided by EMS personnel; (3) mode of transport (EMS vs. non-EMS) to an emergency department (ED); and (4) experiences with EMS before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A bibliographic database search was conducted to identify relevant studies on Ovid MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Quantitative, mixed methods, and qualitative studies published in English or Spanish were included if they discussed Hispanic adults' experiences with EMS in the US between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2021. The Hawker and colleagues quality assessment instrument was used to evaluate the quality of studies. Results: Of the 43 included studies, 13 examined EMS activation, 13 assessed on-scene care, 22 discussed the mode of transport to an ED, and 4 described Hispanic adults' experiences with EMS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hispanics were less likely to activate EMS (N=7), less likely to receive certain types of on-scene care (N=6), and less likely to use EMS as the mode of transport to an ED (N=13), compared with non-Hispanic Whites. During the early COVID-19 pandemic period (March to May 2020), EMS use decreased by 26.5% compared with the same months during the previous 4 years. Conclusions: The contribution of this study is its attention to Hispanic adults' experiences with the different phases of the US EMS system.