Utah Valley Dispatch Special Service District is located in Spanish Fork, Utah, and provides centralized dispatch services for police, fire, and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies in Utah and Juab counties. All 45 dispatchers working in the center are certified in CPR, Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD), and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). These dispatchers are trained to give lifesaving instructions to callers during emergency medical situations. At the time of the call, the EMD was on her fourth week of training and taking 911 emergencies as well as...
In gem cutting, a "facet" is one of the cut faces that causes the gem to shine and sparkle. But facets don't just reflect light. In the words of the International Gem Society, facets "control the entry and exit of light" from the gem. In other words, cutting a new facet—seeing or finding a new angle on the stone—allows the viewer to literally see further into its depths. It's an enchanting idea, and one that, surprisingly enough, applies to this issue of AEDR. In 2013, in the second issue ever of AEDR, we published a literature review...
Rapid identification of sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and delivery of bystander chest compressions in patients with ventricular fibrillation are key elements in the chain of survival. However, time to bystander compressions can be greatly affected by a wide variety of barriers, some beyond an EMD's control. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the impact that barriers have on the time taken to achieve bystander compressions for suspected OHCAs. This retrospective, quantitative cohort...
Empirical literature examining the health and wellness of emergency responders has continued to grow over the past decade. Yet there is a relative absence of literature on 911 telecommunicators, who are often the "first, first responders" in an emergency. Examination of work-related factors that enhance risk for stress and adverse outcomes may improve current prevention and intervention efforts in this population. Civilian 911 calltakers and dispatchers from the state of California (N = 833) participated in an online study to...
Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) quality can have life-or-death implications. The quality of service provided by PSAPs is inconsistent due to the lack of mandatory standards of care at the national, state, and local levels. Public demands and duties placed on PSAPs have grown due to technological changes, civil cases alleging negligence, and the emergence of national recommended standards of care, yet governments at all levels have been slow to create governance structures to reinforce adherence to standards...
Research Spotlight highlights a study that might be of interest to our readers. An interview with one or more of the study's authors also provides a more personal, behind-the-scenes understanding of how and why research is done. In this issue, we're highlighting a study done by Michelle Lilly, Ph.D., and Kim Turner, which examines how duty-related factors impact stress and mental/physical health outcomes...
