What is it about?
Ambulance dispatches have been increasing year after year — a common issue across many developed countries. In our study, we successfully reproduced the 42-year trend of ambulance dispatches in Japan using a simple statistical model, for the first time. We also found that ambulance use tends to rise during periods of deflation, and fluctuates significantly with short-term economic changes during those times.
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Photo by Mpho Mojapelo on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This research offers new insights into predicting and managing the growing burden on emergency medical services. It is also the first long-term analysis to show how economic conditions can directly affect the healthcare system.
Perspectives
Monetary and fiscal policies aimed at preventing deflation may play a key role in reducing the number of ambulance dispatches.
Yohei Kamikawa
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The changing impact of the active job openings-to-applicants ratio (AJOAR) on ambulance dispatches during deflation: A longitudinal ecological study, PLOS One, May 2025, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320914.
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