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Health Care Services in Shopping Centers: A Routine Mass-Gathering Event
- Mehmet Ali Ceyhan, Gültekin Günhan Demir
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- Journal:
- Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 35 / Issue 6 / December 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 October 2020, pp. 669-675
- Print publication:
- December 2020
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- Article
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Background:
Shopping centers (SCs) are social areas with a group of commercial establishments which attract customers of numerous people every day. However, analysis of urgent health conditions and provided health care in SCs has not been performed so far.
Objective:The aim of the study was to perform a comparative analysis of clients visiting SCs and demographics, complaints, and health care of patients admitted to Emergency Medical Intervention Units (EMIU) located in grand SCs in Ankara, Turkey.
Methods:Customer and health care records of nine grand SCs in Ankara from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. Health care services in EMIUs of SCs were provided by employed medical staff. Data including demographic characteristics, complaints, treatment protocols, discharge, and referral to hospital of the patients were retrospectively analyzed from medical registration forms.
Results:Medical records of nine grand SCs were analyzed. Number of customers could not be obtained in three SCs due to privacy issues and were not included in patient presentation rate (PPR) and transport-to-hospital rate (TTHR) calculation. Total number of customers in the remaining six SCs were 53,277,239. The total number of patients seeking medical care was 6,749. The number of patients seeking health care in six SCs with known number of customers was 4,498 and PPR ranged from 0.018 to 0.381 patients per 1,000 attendants. The median age of the recorded 4,065 patients (60.2%) was 28 (interquartile range [IQR]: 38-21), and 3,611 (53.5%) of the patients admitted to EMIUs were female. The number of patients treated in the SC was 4,634 (68.6%) and 189 patients (2.8%) were transferred-to-hospital by ambulance for further evaluation and treatment. Transportation to hospital was required in 125 patients who sought medical care in six SCs which provided total number of customers, and TTHR ranged from 0.000 to 0.005 patients per 1,000 attendants. No sudden cardiac death was seen. Medical conditions were the primary reasons for seeking health care. The most frequent causes of presentation were laceration and abrasions (639 patients, 9.4%).
Conclusion:The PPR and TTHR in SCs are low. The most common causes of presentation are minor conditions and injuries. Majority of urgent medical conditions in SCs can be managed by health care providers in EMIUs.
Evaluation of Health Care Services Provided in Political Public Meetings in Turkey: A Forgotten Detail in Politics
- Mehmet Ali Ceyhan, Gültekin Günhan Demir, Gamze Babur Güler
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- Journal:
- Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 33 / Issue 6 / December 2018
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 15 November 2018, pp. 607-613
- Print publication:
- December 2018
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- Article
- Export citation
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Background
Political parties in Turkey execute political public meetings (PPMs) during their election campaign for members of the parliament (MoP). A great number of people attend these meetings. No guidelines exist regarding preparation and organization of health care services provided during these meetings. Furthermore, there is no study evaluating health care problems encountered in previous PPMs.
ObjectivePolitical parties arranged PPMs in 2015 during the election campaign for general election of MoP. The present study aimed to investigate the context of health care services, the distribution of assigned health staff, as well as the number and the symptoms of patients admitted in health care tents in these PPMs.
MethodsTwo general elections for MoP were done in Turkey on June 7, 2015 and November 1, 2015. Health care services were provided by the City Emergency Medical Services Department (CEMSD) in the cities. Demographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbid conditions, treatment, discharge, and hospital transfer of the patients were obtained from patient medical registration records. Information about the distribution and the number of the assigned staff was received from local CEMSDs. The impact of variables such as the number of attendees, heat index, humidity, and the day of the week on the number of patients and the patient presentation rate (PPR) were analyzed.
ResultsA total of 97 PPMs were analyzed. The number of total attendees was 5,265,450 people. The number of patients seeking medical help was 1,991. The PPR was 0.5 (0.23-0.91) patients per 1,000 attendees. Mean age of the patients was 40 (SD=19) years old while 1,174 (58.9%) of the patients were female. A total of 1,579 patients were treated in the tents and returned to the PPM following treatment. Two-hundred and three patients were transferred to a hospital by ambulance. Transfer-to-hospital ratio (TTHR) was 0.05 (0.0-0.13) patients per 1,000 attendees. None of the patients suffered sudden cardiac death (SCD) or cardiac arrest. Medical conditions were the main cause for admission. The most common symptoms were dizziness, low blood pressure, fatigue, and hypertension, respectively. The most commonly used medical agents included pain killers and myorelaxants. The number of attendees, heat index, and weekend days were positively correlated with the number of the patients.
Conclusion: The majority of medical conditions encountered in PPMs are easily treatable in health care tents settled in the meeting area. The number of attendees, heat index, and weekend days are factors associated with the number of patients.
,Ceyhan MA ,Demir GG .Güler GB Evaluation of Health Care Services Provided in Political Public Meetings in Turkey: A Forgotten Detail in Politics . Prehosp Disaster Med.2018 ;33 (6 ):607 –613 .