Contributing Factors andIssues Associated with Rural Ambulance Crashes: Literature Review andAnnotated Bibliography

Abstract

Ambulance crashes occur with greater frequency andseverity than crashes involving vehicles of similar size andweight characteristics. Crashes in rural areas tend to be more severe in terms of injury or death to vehicle occupants. The purpose of this article was to examine the extant literature, as well as summarize anddiscuss the overlapping findings of that body of literature. A stepwise literature search was conducted using the following MeSH search terms ambulance; accident, traffic; emergency medical technician; occupational health; andrural in descending combination. MEDLINE was used as the primary database but was augmented by searches of Academic Search Premier, Comprehensive Index of Nursing, Allied Health Literature, andProQuest Dissertation International. The search resulted in 32 article citations, andof these, 28 were included. An annotated bibliography is followed by a discussion andconclusion that identify opportunities for prevention activities in the areas of education, enforcement, andengineering.

Key words:

• ambulances
• accident, traffic
• emergency medical services
• occupational health
• emergencies
• emergency medical technician