Barriers of Pre-Hospital Services in Road Traffic Injuries in Tehran: The Viewpoint of Service Providers

Document Type : Original article

Authors

1 Department of Nursing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

2 Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: Iran is one of the countries with considerable road traffic injuries.  Pre-hospital interventions have an important role in preventing mortalities and disabilities caused by traffic accidents.The present study aimed to explore the barriers of pre-hospital care in traffic injuries in Tehran, Iran.Methods: A qualitative content analysis approach was conducted based on 21 semi-structured interviews with 18 participants.  A purposeful sampling method was applied until reaching data saturation.  Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and then data condensing, labeling, coding and defining categories were performed by qualitative content analysis.Results: Four main barriers including 4 main categories and 13 subcategories emerged; they included Barriers related to people, Barriers related to metropolitan infrastructure,Barriers related to the profession and Barriers related to managerial issues.Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, pre-hospital service barriers in traffic accidents have many dimensions including cultural, structural and managerial domains. Policy makers in health system can use these findings to promote the quality of pre-hospital services, especially in the field of traffic injuries.

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