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. 2016:24:e2690.
doi: 10.1590/1518-8345.0959.2690. Epub 2016 May 3.

Trauma in elderly people: access to the health system through pre-hospital care

[Article in English, Portuguese, Spanish]
Hilderjane Carla da Silva  1 , Renata de Lima Pessoa  2 , Rejane Maria Paiva de Menezes  3
Affiliations

Trauma in elderly people: access to the health system through pre-hospital care

[Article in English, Portuguese, Spanish]
Hilderjane Carla da Silva et al. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2016.

Abstract

Objective: to identify the prevalence of trauma in elderly people and how they accessed the health system through pre-hospital care.

Method: documentary and retrospective study at a mobile emergency care service, using a sample of 400 elderly trauma victims selected through systematic random sampling. A form validated by experts was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied. The chi-square test was used to analyze the association between the variables.

Results: Trauma was predominant among women (52.25%) and in the age range between 60 and 69 years (38.25%), average age 74.19 years (standard deviation±10.25). Among the mechanisms, falls (56.75%) and traffic accidents (31.25%) stood out, showing a significant relation with the pre-hospital care services (p<0.001). Circulation, airway opening, cervical control and immobilization actions were the most frequent and Basic Life Support Services (87.8%) were the most used, with trauma referral hospitals as the main destination (56.7%).

Conclusion: trauma prevailed among women, victims of falls, who received pre-hospital care through basic life support services and actions and were transported to the trauma referral hospital. It is important to reorganize pre-hospital care, avoiding overcrowded hospitals and delivering better care to elderly trauma victims.

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