Existing science on human factors and ergonomics in the design of ambulances and EMS equipment

Background: Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel face a disproportionally high risk for fatality and injury due to the nature of their work; and current ambulance and EMS equipment design standards do not adequately safeguard EMS personnel from sacrificing personal safety for patient care, a known human factors and ergonomic (HFE) design challenge. Despite the desire to include HFE interventions or considerations into a standard, the effectiveness of existing HFE interventions for EMS is unclear. Objective: Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize the peer-reviewed literature on the design features of patient compartments and EMS equipment that affect EMS personnel’s performance or well-being. Methods: A scoping review methodology was applied to systematically search and screen for relevant articles, and extract data. Three databases (EmBase, Scopus and PubMed) were searched, and search results were screened for articles that pertained to the performance or well-being of EMS personnel when interacting with the patient compartment or its associated equipment. Results and Discussion: Of the 4125 search results, 48 relevant articles were retained, and then sorted into one of three categories: general design, patient handling, and patient transport. It was concluded that, although research has progressed over the past 15 years, more research, development, and resources are needed. Newer generations of ambulances have not been shown to be safer during collisions and there is a knowledge gap in how occupants and contents of a patient compartment behave during a collision. Crash-tests have been performed with restrained occupants and supplies, however, that scenario is unrealistic in the field. While the existing literature provided initial ideas and innovations for improving the HFE of patient handling and patient transport, it is important for future research to convey findings in a manner that can be used to inform design standards

Performance Comparison of Three Types of Devices Deployed in a Typical Passenger Tracking System

Even though the location information of travelling passengers is very valuable, offered passenger tracking solutions are not at a satisfactory cost/performance level. A cost effective passenger presence information provider system proposal is made, in present work. The design makes use of our present day’s off the shelf, popular, wireless Internet of Things devices like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, iBeacons™ and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) adapters. Our work goes beyond a design proposal by comparing the three passenger marker devices.  Single and multiple device configurations are tested and the findings are presented. Using the findings in universally accepted performance evaluators, the performance of each configuration is determined. The performance results are compared and an evaluation of the results is provided for the reader. Keywords: BLE, Cloud Computing, Mobile Phone, Internet of Things, Passenger Tracking System, RFI

Project brief for IIUM Hospital (Phase 1), International Islamic University Malaysia (Medical Campus)Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur

A project brief on medical requirements for the planning and design of IIUM teaching hospital in IIUM Kuantan Campus. There are two versions of the brief, i.e. the 2009 version and the 2010 version. The march 2010 version was revised after the site visit was made to Kuantan by the bidders and as an outcome of the dialogue

Addressing data accuracy and information integrity in mHealth using ML

The aim of the study was finding a way in which Machine Learning can be applied in mHealth Solutions to detect inaccurate data that can potentially harm patients. The result was an algorithm that classified accurate and inaccurate data

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

The Joint Publication 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms sets forth standard US military and associated terminology to encompass the joint activity of the Armed Forces of the United States. These military and associated terms, together with their definitions, constitute approved Department of Defense (DOD) terminology for general use by all DOD components

Bioterrorism: Information Technology Strategy Could Strengthen Federal Agencies' Abilities to Respond to Public Health Emergencies

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The October 2001 anthrax attacks, the recent outbreak of the virulent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and increased awareness that terrorist groups may be capable of releasing life-threatening biological agents have prompted efforts to improve our nation's preparedness for, and response to, public health emergencies--including bioterrorism. GAO was asked, among other things, to identify federal agencies information technology (IT) initiatives to support our nation's readiness to deal with bioterrorism. Specifically, we compiled an inventory of such activities, determined the range of these coordination activities with other agencies, and identified the use of health care standards in these efforts.

Distant Operational Care Centre: Design Project Report

The goal of this project is to outline the design of the Distant Operational Care Centre (DOCC), a modular medical facility to maintain human health and performance in space, that is adaptable to a range of remote human habitats. The purpose of this project is to outline a design, not to go into a complete technical specification of a medical facility for space. This project involves a process to produce a concise set of requirements, addressing the fundamental problems and issues regarding all aspects of a space medical facility for the future. The ideas presented here are at a high level, based on existing, researched, and hypothetical technologies. Given the long development times for space exploration, the outlined concepts from this project embodies a collection of identified problems, and corresponding proposed solutions and ideas, ready to contribute to future space exploration efforts. In order to provide a solid extrapolation and speculation in the context of the future of space medicine, the extent of this project's vision is roughly within the next two decades. The Distant Operational Care Centre (DOCC) is a modular medical facility for space. That is, its function is to maintain human health and performance in space environments, through prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Furthermore, the DOCC must be adaptable to meet the environmental requirements of different remote human habitats, and support a high quality of human performance. To meet a diverse range of remote human habitats, the DOCC concentrates on a core medical capability that can then be adapted. Adaptation would make use of the DOCC's functional modularity, providing the ability to replace, add, and modify core functions of the DOCC by updating hardware, operations, and procedures. Some of the challenges to be addressed by this project include what constitutes the core medical capability in terms of hardware, operations, and procedures, and how DOCC can be adapted to different remote habitats

Investigating opportunities for sustainability behaviours within Paramedic and Ambulance Service practice

The National Health Service (NHS) is under increasing pressure to adopt radical strategies for change, in order to meet UK national targets of net zero emissions by 2050. This thesis aimed to explore and investigate sustainability behaviours of UK ambulance service personnel and how they contribute to a reduce, re-use, recycle (RRR) ethos. Phase one, a systematic literature review (n=114 studies) explored sustainability in Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Phase two phenomenological study explored the role and experiences of NHS ambulance strategic managers (n=6 participants) in England, when implementing their organisational Green Plans. Phase three ethnographical observation explored the sustainability activities, attitudes and behaviours of operational ambulance personnel within two English NHS ASTs (n= 66 participants). Phase one findings identified that rising global temperatures, caused by worldwide carbon emissions, will place an amplified demand on EMS, through an increase in morbidity and mortality rates. It also showed a dearth of empiric sustainability research involving UK ambulance services. Phase two findings revealed an insight into the Sustainability Managers’ challenges of implementing sustainability policy, the factors that incentivise change, staff resistance and tactics to overcome it, short-term and long-term aims, and their opinions with future objectives. Phase three observational findings discovered a diversity of sustainability attitudes and behaviours amongst the staff, where three behavioural groups were identified: firstly, those who were already sustainability pro-active, secondly, those who were willing in attitude, but lacked the facilities, resources, support or means to apply behavioural changes in their practice and finally, those yet to be convinced to adjust towards sustainability behaviours. This thesis provides an original and valuable insight into the sustainability and carbon reduction strategies employed within EMS organisations. Further opportunities may be generated from the findings, which could lead to cost savings across other EMS settings and the wider business communities globally