Analysis of Spatial Distribution of Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services in Traffic Accidents: Mashhad City, Iran

Abstract

Background: Physical access to health services is determined by the geographic location of the patient. This study aims to distribute the bases and hospitals of Mashhad City, Iran, and the extent of coverage of the bases in traffic accidents. Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive cross-sectional and applied study. The study population for high-accident points includes 21142 missions carried out regarding traffic accidents as well as 37 points related to 115 emergency bases in 2014. The information needed by the researcher was collected by receiving the files of the injured from the statistical unit of the center. By forming the database of the road network in Mashhad City in a geographic information system environment as communication links and defining emergency centers as facilities, the radius of emergency centers was drawn using the service area method. Results: In this study, the areas that needed more services and the number of provider centers was less compared to the covered area were identified. After matching the distribution map of the bases with the distribution of accidents, the areas with the lowest distribution of accidents and the highest service of emergency medical services, as well as high accidents and less service were obtained. Conclusion: The distribution of bases and hospitals does not have a proper distribution situation, which can lead to the lowering of the desired level and the creation of illogical concentration. To cover the emergency missions, it is necessary to set up emergency bases and complete the existing hospitals in the city.