Development of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Iran: Component of Transportation

Introduction: One of the major barriers for providing emergency medical services (EMS) is the inappropriate and poor transportation. The aim of this study was to prioritize the EMS transportation components in Iran. Methods: This study is a kind of descriptive and cross-sectional study that conducted in the first half of 2010 using DEMATEL method. The transportation components of emergency medical services in different systems were collected and a questionnaire was developed. The respondents consisted of 30 Iranian experts in pre-hospital emergency who were asked to evaluate the list of suggested transportation components and revise them using their scientific, practical and visionary experience. The components were identified using Delphi method. The priority of components was then depicted using MATLAB and Edraw Max 5 softwares. Results: The components of the ambulance type B, ambulance type C, helicopter, large jet aircraft, motorcycle ambulance and support ambulance were determined as transportation components. Also, the components of ambulance type B and large jet aircraft were determined as the most affecting and affected care model components, respectively, with the coordinates (1.33 and 1.33) and (1.53 and -1.53) on the pre-hospital emergency transportation components graph. Conclusion: Given the scarce resources and unlimited needs, and in order to develop EMS transportation, resource allocation should be based on a set of priorities. According to current study findings, using the Ambulances type B, support and motorcycle ambulances have great importance to develop EMS in Iran.