Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres
Background: The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding implementation of measures such as stay-at-home orders and curfews had a major impact on health systems, including emergency medical services. This study examined the effect of the pandemic on call volumes, duration of calls and u...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024008703 |
| _version_ | 1827348404182712320 |
|---|---|
| author | Florian Dax Moritz Waibel Katharina Kneißl Stephan Prückner Marc Lazarovici Florian Hoffmann Kathrin Hegenberg |
| author_facet | Florian Dax Moritz Waibel Katharina Kneißl Stephan Prückner Marc Lazarovici Florian Hoffmann Kathrin Hegenberg |
| author_sort | Florian Dax |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding implementation of measures such as stay-at-home orders and curfews had a major impact on health systems, including emergency medical services. This study examined the effect of the pandemic on call volumes, duration of calls and unanswered calls to the emergency number 112. Method: For this retrospective, descriptive study, 986,650 calls to seven emergency dispatch centres in Bavaria between January 01, 2019 and May 31, 2021 were analysed. The absolute number of calls and calls per 100,000 inhabitants as well as the number of unanswered calls are reported. The Mann‒Whitney U test was used to compare mean call durations between 2019 and 2020/2021 during several periods. Results: Call volume declined during the pandemic, especially during periods with strict lockdown restrictions. The largest decline (−12.9 %) occurred during the first lockdown. The largest reduction in the number of emergency calls overall (−25.3 %) occurred on weekends during the second lockdown. Emergency call duration increased, with the largest increase (+13 s) occurring during the “light” lockdown. The number of unanswered calls remained at a similar level as before the pandemic. Conclusion: This study showed that the studied Bavarian dispatch centres experienced lower call volumes and longer call durations during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (up to May 2021). Longer call durations could be the result of additional questions to identify potentially infectious patients. The fact that the number of unanswered calls hardly changed may indicate that the dispatch centres were not overwhelmed during the study period. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0afd819b72a241adbc551b0f13da8f27 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:45Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-0afd819b72a241adbc551b0f13da8f272024-02-17T06:38:49ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-02-01103e24839Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centresFlorian Dax0Moritz Waibel1Katharina Kneißl2Stephan Prückner3Marc Lazarovici4Florian Hoffmann5Kathrin Hegenberg6Institut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM), Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Schillerstr. 53, 80336, München, Germany; Corresponding author.Institut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM), Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Schillerstr. 53, 80336, München, GermanyInstitut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM), Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Schillerstr. 53, 80336, München, GermanyInstitut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM), Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Schillerstr. 53, 80336, München, GermanyInstitut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM), Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Schillerstr. 53, 80336, München, GermanyDr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, Kinderklinik und Kinderpoliklinik, Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Lindwurmstr. 4, 80337, München, GermanyInstitut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM), Klinikum der Universität München, LMU München, Schillerstr. 53, 80336, München, GermanyBackground: The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding implementation of measures such as stay-at-home orders and curfews had a major impact on health systems, including emergency medical services. This study examined the effect of the pandemic on call volumes, duration of calls and unanswered calls to the emergency number 112. Method: For this retrospective, descriptive study, 986,650 calls to seven emergency dispatch centres in Bavaria between January 01, 2019 and May 31, 2021 were analysed. The absolute number of calls and calls per 100,000 inhabitants as well as the number of unanswered calls are reported. The Mann‒Whitney U test was used to compare mean call durations between 2019 and 2020/2021 during several periods. Results: Call volume declined during the pandemic, especially during periods with strict lockdown restrictions. The largest decline (−12.9 %) occurred during the first lockdown. The largest reduction in the number of emergency calls overall (−25.3 %) occurred on weekends during the second lockdown. Emergency call duration increased, with the largest increase (+13 s) occurring during the “light” lockdown. The number of unanswered calls remained at a similar level as before the pandemic. Conclusion: This study showed that the studied Bavarian dispatch centres experienced lower call volumes and longer call durations during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (up to May 2021). Longer call durations could be the result of additional questions to identify potentially infectious patients. The fact that the number of unanswered calls hardly changed may indicate that the dispatch centres were not overwhelmed during the study period.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024008703Integrated Dispatch CentreEmergency callCall volumeCOVID-19 pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Florian Dax Moritz Waibel Katharina Kneißl Stephan Prückner Marc Lazarovici Florian Hoffmann Kathrin Hegenberg Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres Heliyon Integrated Dispatch Centre Emergency call Call volume COVID-19 pandemic |
| title | Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres |
| title_full | Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres |
| title_fullStr | Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres |
| title_short | Analyzing emergency call volume, call durations, and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 2019: An observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres |
| title_sort | analyzing emergency call volume call durations and unanswered calls during the first two waves of the covid 19 pandemic compared to 2019 an observational study of routine data from seven bavarian dispatch centres |
| topic | Integrated Dispatch Centre Emergency call Call volume COVID-19 pandemic |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024008703 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT floriandax analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres AT moritzwaibel analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres AT katharinakneißl analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres AT stephanpruckner analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres AT marclazarovici analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres AT florianhoffmann analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres AT kathrinhegenberg analyzingemergencycallvolumecalldurationsandunansweredcallsduringthefirsttwowavesofthecovid19pandemiccomparedto2019anobservationalstudyofroutinedatafromsevenbavariandispatchcentres |