Safety cultures in EMS agencies vary widely, Pitt study finds
2010-09-04
(Press-News.org) PITTSBURGH, Sept. 2 – A survey of emergency medical services (EMS) agencies from across the country found wide variation in perceptions of workplace safety culture—providing a tool that might point to potential patient safety threats, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The study, to be published in the October/December issue of Prehospital Emergency Care and now available online, analyzed survey results from 61 EMS agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Researchers adapted a survey used in other health care settings to measure paramedic and emergency medical technician (EMT) perceptions of safety climate, teamwork, stress recognition and other components of workplace safety culture.
"While others have characterized safety culture in ambulatory care, the intensive care unit and other in-hospital settings, this is one of the first studies of its kind in the high-risk EMS environment. This study helps us begin to know how safe EMS care is—and how widely safety cultures vary from agency to agency," said P. Daniel Patterson, Ph.D., EMT-B, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and lead author of the study. His comments come on the heels of another fatal helicopter ambulance crash in Arkansas, where three crew members, including EMS personnel, were killed.
Notably, the researchers found that air-medical EMS agencies tended to score higher across all six domains of safety culture than did ground-based agencies. Most of the EMS agencies participating in the study were private, rural, ground units employing fewer than 50 people. Most respondents were men who were full-time career employees of the agencies. The mean score on safety climate, one of the domains studied, was highest in agencies with fewer employees, lower annual patient contacts and higher proportions of acute patients.
Dr. Patterson emphasized that there is no common mechanism for classifying and reporting errors and adverse events in EMS. "The study provides benchmarking data for EMS agencies and a reliable and valid tool that EMS officials can use to evaluate safety within their agencies. We continue to collect data and report on variations through our network of EMS agencies affiliated with the EMS Agency Research Network," said Dr. Patterson.
INFORMATION:
The study was supported by grants from the MedEvac Foundation International and the Pittsburgh Emergency Medicine Foundation. During the study, Dr. Patterson was supported by the Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation and a Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Research Fellowship.
About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1997 and now ranks fifth in the nation, according to preliminary data for fiscal year 2008. Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see www.medschool.pitt.edu.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2010-09-04
Washington, DC -- Bold and coordinated leadership at the federal level is essential to create secure, long-term, sustainable biomedical research funding policies based on strategic priorities, say the authors of a commentary about America's fledgling biomedical research framework published in this week's The Journal of the American Medical Association.
In "A New Research and Development Policy Framework for the Biomedical Research Enterprise," by Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, of Georgetown University Medical Center and Elaine R. Rubin, PhD, of Association of Academic Health ...
2010-09-04
The September cover story of the nation's leading cancer journal, "Cancer Research," features a new study from The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, that links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer. While the molecular mechanisms of the cancer-promoting effects of capsaicin are not clear and remain controversial, The Hormel Institute has shown a definite connection to formation of skin cancer through various laboratory studies.
Ann Bode, professor in the institute's Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Section, led the research team on this ...
2010-09-04
BETHESDA, MD, SEPT 2, 2010⎯The old joke is a joke no more. In a special September issue of the ASCB's online journal, CBE—Life Sciences Education (CBE-LSE), the adage that biology is for science students who don't do math is laid to rest forever. "Bio-math" or "math-bio" is in the future for students of both disciplines, say the contributors of seven essays and 17 research articles on new ways to integrate mathematical thinking into biology education and introduce biological problems into math learning.
"The national scientific and academic community has issued ...
2010-09-04
MANHATTAN, KAN. -- People who believe that fate and chance control their lives are more likely to be superstitious -- but when faced with death they are likely to abandon superstition altogether, according to a recent Kansas State University undergraduate research project.
The project, led by Scott Fluke, a May 2010 K-State bachelor's graduate in psychology, Olathe, focuses on personality traits that lead to superstition. Fluke received a $500 Doreen Shanteau Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 2009 to work with the team of Russell Webster, graduate student in psychology, ...
2010-09-04
Sugar, salt, alcohol and a little serendipity led a Northwestern University research team to discover a new class of nanostructures that could be used for gas storage and food and medical technologies. And the compounds are edible.
The porous crystals are the first known all-natural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that are simple to make. Most other MOFs are made from petroleum-based ingredients, but the Northwestern MOFs you can pop into your mouth and eat, and the researchers have.
"They taste kind of bitter, like a Saltine cracker, starchy and bland," said Ronald ...
2010-09-04
The academic performance of adolescents will suffer in at least one of four key subjects –– English, math, science, history –– if their DNA contains one or more of three specific dopamine gene variations, according to a study led by renowned biosocial criminologist Kevin M. Beaver of The Florida State University.
The research sheds new light on the genetic components of academic performance during middle and high school, and on the interplay of specific genes and environmental factors such as peer behavior or school conditions.
"We believe that dopaminergic genes ...
2010-09-04
New Rochelle, NY, September 1, 2010—Biopharmaceutical firms and other life science organizations are taking definitive steps toward creating greener working environments and developing more sustainable operations, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). This promising trend was made clear through a series of presentations and panel discussions that took place at GEN's (www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/biopharma-s-going-green/3381), "GreenBioPharma" conference, which was recently held in Philadelphia.
"The main message that emerged from our meeting was that ...
2010-09-04
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), a professional organization of member scientists, opposes the Federal District Court injunction that froze federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. ARVO is troubled by this barrier to research that has the potential to restore sight and mitigate eye damage.
ARVO members investigate hESC therapies for treating diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and corneal disease, along with studies related to eye tissue transplantation, regeneration ...
2010-09-04
LA JOLLA, CA – September 2, 2010 – Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction.
The study was published in Science Express, the advanced, online edition of the journal Science, on September 2, 2010.
In the study, the Scripps Research scientists identify two proteins, which they named Piezo1 and Piezo2 from the Greek meaning "pressure," involved in the cellular response to mechanical stimulation. ...
2010-09-04
Studies have shown that heat-stressed dairy cows suffer from damage to their ovarian follicles. Moreover, the eggs produced by the damaged follicles may also be damaged, said Dr. Todd Bilby, Texas AgriLife Extension Service dairy specialist.
Worse, after becoming heat-stressed, other studies have shown the eggs she ovulates for the next 40 or 50 days are likely to be damaged as well, according to Bilby.
Bilby and his graduate student, Brandi Stewart, have found a way to double pregnancy rates during the summer and increase the number of heifers born as compared with ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Safety cultures in EMS agencies vary widely, Pitt study finds
