Mobile videoconferencing for enhanced emergency medical communication - a shot in the dark or a walk in the park? ‒‒ A simulation study

Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine

Stein Roald Bolle²  Martin Hotvedt¹  Sigurd Melbye¹ 

[1] Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway;University Hospital of North Norway, Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine, P.O. Box 35, N-9038 Tromsø, Norway

关键词: Remote consultation;    Cellular phone;    Emergency medical services;    Videoconferencing;    M-health;    E-health;    Videoconference;    Telemedicine;    Emergency telehealth;    Emergency medicine;   

Others  :  802366
DOI  :  10.1186/1757-7241-22-35

 received in 2013-12-19, accepted in 2014-05-20,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Videoconferencing on mobile phones may enhance communication, but knowledge on its quality in various situations is needed before it can be used in medical emergencies. Mobile phones automatically activate loudspeaker functionality during videoconferencing, making calls particularly vulnerable to background noise. The aim of this study was to investigate if videoconferencing can be used between lay bystanders and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) operators for initial emergency calls during medical emergencies, under suboptimal sound and light conditions.

Methods

Videoconferencing was tested between 90 volunteers and an emergency medical dispatcher in a standardized scenario of a medical emergency. Three different environments were used for the trials: indoors with moderate background noise, outdoors with daylight and much background noise, and outdoors during nighttime with little background noise. Thirty participants were recruited for each of the three locations. After informed consent, each participant was asked to use a video mobile phone to communicate with an EMD operator. During the video call the EMD operator gave instructions for tasks to be performed by the participant. The video quality from the caller to the EMD was evaluated by the EMD operator and rated on a five step scale ranging from "not able to see" to "good video quality". Sound quality between participants and EMD operators was assessed by a method developed for this trial. Kruskal – Wallis and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Video quality was significantly different between the groups (p <0.001), and the nighttime group had lower video quality. For most sessions in the nighttime group it was still possible to see actions done at the simulated emergency site. All participants were able to perform their tasks according to the instructions given by dispatchers, although with a need for more repetitions during sessions with much background noise. No calls were rated by dispatchers as incomprehensible due to low sound quality and only 3% of the calls were considered somewhat difficult or very difficult to understand.

Conclusions

Videoconferencing on mobile phones can be used for the initial emergency call during medical emergencies also in suboptimal conditions.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Melbye et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Murray CJ, Lopez AD: Mortality by cause for eight regions of the world: global burden of disease study. Lancet 1997, 349(9061):1269-1276.
• [2]Krug EG, Sharma GK, Lozano R: The global burden of injuries. Am J Public Health 2000, 90(4):523-526.
• [3]Johnsen E, Bolle SR: To see or not to see - better dispatcher-assisted CPR with video- calls? A qualitative study based on simulated trials. Resuscitation 2008, 78(3):320-326.
• [4]Nylenna M: EMD centre. Great Norwegian Med Encyclopaedia 2009. http://sml.snl.no/AMK-sentral webcite
• [5]Pettinari CJ, Jessopp L: "Your ears become your eyes": managing the absence of visibility in NHS Direct. J Adv Nurs 2001, 36(5):668-675.
• [6]Bolle SR, Johnsen E, Gilbert M: Video calls for dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation can improve the confidence of lay rescuers–surveys after simulated cardiac arrest. J Telemed Telecare 2011, 17(2):88-92.
• [7]Yang CW, Wang HC, Chiang WC, et al.: Impact of adding video communication to dispatch instructions on the quality of rescue breathing in simulated cardiac arrests–a randomized controlled study. Resuscitation 2008, 78(3):327-332.
• [8]Statistics Norway’s database of names 2013. http://www.ssb.no/a/navn webcite
• [9]The Norwegian Index of Medical Emergency Assistance: The Norwegian Medical Association. 3 Issue edition. Oslo: Laerdals Found for Emergency Medicine; 2009.
• [10]Bolle SR, Scholl J, Gilbert M: Can video mobile phones improve CPR quality when used for dispatcher assistance during simulated cardiac arrest? Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2009, 53(1):116-120.
• [11]Bolle SR: Supporting lay bystanders during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: comparison of video calls and audio calls for instructions and supervision. Doctoral Thesis, University of Tromsø; 2011. http://munin.uit.no/handle/10037/3597 webcite
• [12]Bolle SR, Hasvold P, Henriksen E: Video calls from lay bystanders to dispatch centres - risk assessment of information security. BMC Health Services 2011, 11:244. BioMed Central Full Text