Age and Sex Differences in the Use of Emergency Telephone Consultation Services in Saitama, Japan: A Population-Based Observational Study

Autor: Toshie Manabe, Akihisa Nakamura, Hiroyuki Teraura, Kazuhiko Kotani
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 17, Iss 1, p 185 (2019)
Volume 17
Issue 1
ISSN: 1660-4601
Popis: The frequency of use of emergency telephone consultation (ETC) services, which is a telephone triage system in Japan, was explored to determine age- and sex-related trends on symptoms/events among Japanese adults. Data were obtained from records of the initial year of ETC services in Saitama Prefecture (from October 2014 to September 2015). Residents who used the ETC services were divided into four age groups (20&ndash
39, 40&ndash
64, 65&ndash
74, and &ge
75 years old). The number of calls per 1000 persons (call rate, CR) was compared between the groups. The annual CR for the top 10 symptoms/events were assessed. The annual CR was 2.6/1000 persons. The annual CR was significantly higher for women (2.9) than for men (2.3) (p <
0.05). ETC use was the highest in the 20&ndash
39 age group for both sexes (3.3 and 4.4 in men and women, respectively). All groups had fever, abdominal pain, and nausea/vomiting in common. In older adults, the frequency of events such as bruises and head injury was high. Women and younger adults tended to use ETC services. There were similarities and differences in symptoms/events among the groups, which should be recognized by call centers to help foster call center staff.
Databáze: OpenAIRE