AUTHOR=Aljabri Duaa , Albinali Hissah 

TITLE=Public awareness and use of 997 emergency medical service phone number during the COVID-19 pandemic

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.937202

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.937202

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: Emergency medical services (EMS) is an important element of the healthcare system as it provides an opportunity to respond to critical medical conditions and save people’s lives. In Saudi Arabia, EMS are offered via the EMS phone number "997" and the mobile ambulatory application "Asefny" (i.e. Save me).
Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional survey study exploring public awareness and use of the EMS phone number "997" during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Bivariate analysis was performed to investigate factors affecting awareness and use of EMS phone number, and compare EMS acceptance to transport and timeliness of ambulance arrival between requests made via the "997" EMS phone number and “Asefny” mobile application during the country's emergency lockdown.
Results: A total of 805 participants were included in the analysis, where 66% reported awareness of the EMS phone number, and 75% of them accurately identified the nature of the service provided by dialing the number. Male participants, those with a bachelor’s degree, with children, and with chronic conditions were more aware of EMS phone number compared to other participants. Of the total sample, 46.7% have used EMS phone number at least once (ever users). During the COVID-19 lockdown, EMS accepted to transport 87% of the calls made by 997 phone number and 56.2% of the mobile application requests (P<0.00). The ambulance arrived in ≤8 minutes in 53.6% of the 997 phone calls and 35.5% of Asefny mobile requests (P<0.00).
Conclusions: Findings show commendable levels of awareness and use of EMS phone number. However, results suggest a room for improvement by developing promotional and educational campaigns inspired by the factors identified as influential on both the awareness and use. Also, mobile applications in EMS is promising to improve the prehospital emergency service accessibility, which needs to be further investigated to assess its impact on the public health informatics experience.