Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Abstract Background Emergency medical dispatch is a crucial component of a national healthcare system. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the temporal patterns of emergency medical service evaluations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and evaluates the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on th...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Emergency Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-025-01273-1 |
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| author | Gantuya Ganbat Ayoung Kim Buyanbilig Namnansuren Suvd Batbaatar Ho Kim |
| author_facet | Gantuya Ganbat Ayoung Kim Buyanbilig Namnansuren Suvd Batbaatar Ho Kim |
| author_sort | Gantuya Ganbat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Emergency medical dispatch is a crucial component of a national healthcare system. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the temporal patterns of emergency medical service evaluations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and evaluates the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on those patterns. Methods We analyzed emergency medical evaluations recorded by physicians following the dispatch calls received by the Emergency Medical Communication Center in Ulaanbaatar between 2016 and 2021. We assessed trends in the number of emergency calls, demographic distributions, and temporal patterns. Comparative analysis was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, with a focus on seasonal, weekly, and hourly variations. Results There were 558,457 emergency calls during the study period, and a total of 8 diagnoses (I, J, Y, F, K, G, O, and Z according to ICD-10) constituted 99.1% of the emergency calls. The two most abundant causes for emergency calls in Ulaanbaatar are “Diseases of the circulatory system (I)” and “Diseases of the respiratory system (J)” in all seasons. We analyzed the temporal patterns of the calls and identified that the highest number of calls was received in winter, weekends, and evenings for the total number of calls. Further, we conducted an analysis of calls during COVID-19 strict lockdown periods. A retrospective analysis of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency calls showed that emergency calls decreased by 24% compared to the previous year. Notably, the difference between the COVID-19 strict lockdown period and the preceding period was more pronounced during periods of strict lockdown implementation. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive analysis of EMS calls in Ulaanbaatar from 2016 to 2021, providing valuable insights into both long-term temporal trends and the effects of pandemic-related lockdowns. These findings can support improved EMS planning and inform public health policies in low- and middle-income countries. Clinical trial number Not applicable. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-27c840e4f0384bd998e2f2fc23e50022 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-227X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-27c840e4f0384bd998e2f2fc23e500222025-08-20T04:01:52ZengBMCBMC Emergency Medicine1471-227X2025-07-0125111010.1186/s12873-025-01273-1Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaGantuya Ganbat0Ayoung Kim1Buyanbilig Namnansuren2Suvd Batbaatar3Ho Kim4German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and TechnologyGraduate School of Public Health, Seoul National UniversityGraduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba“Ach” Medical UniversityGraduate School of Public Health, Seoul National UniversityAbstract Background Emergency medical dispatch is a crucial component of a national healthcare system. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of the temporal patterns of emergency medical service evaluations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and evaluates the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on those patterns. Methods We analyzed emergency medical evaluations recorded by physicians following the dispatch calls received by the Emergency Medical Communication Center in Ulaanbaatar between 2016 and 2021. We assessed trends in the number of emergency calls, demographic distributions, and temporal patterns. Comparative analysis was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, with a focus on seasonal, weekly, and hourly variations. Results There were 558,457 emergency calls during the study period, and a total of 8 diagnoses (I, J, Y, F, K, G, O, and Z according to ICD-10) constituted 99.1% of the emergency calls. The two most abundant causes for emergency calls in Ulaanbaatar are “Diseases of the circulatory system (I)” and “Diseases of the respiratory system (J)” in all seasons. We analyzed the temporal patterns of the calls and identified that the highest number of calls was received in winter, weekends, and evenings for the total number of calls. Further, we conducted an analysis of calls during COVID-19 strict lockdown periods. A retrospective analysis of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency calls showed that emergency calls decreased by 24% compared to the previous year. Notably, the difference between the COVID-19 strict lockdown period and the preceding period was more pronounced during periods of strict lockdown implementation. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive analysis of EMS calls in Ulaanbaatar from 2016 to 2021, providing valuable insights into both long-term temporal trends and the effects of pandemic-related lockdowns. These findings can support improved EMS planning and inform public health policies in low- and middle-income countries. Clinical trial number Not applicable.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-025-01273-1Emergency callsTemporal analysisCOVID-19 impactUlaanbaatarMongoliaEmergency medical communication center |
| spellingShingle | Gantuya Ganbat Ayoung Kim Buyanbilig Namnansuren Suvd Batbaatar Ho Kim Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia BMC Emergency Medicine Emergency calls Temporal analysis COVID-19 impact Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Emergency medical communication center |
| title | Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| title_full | Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| title_fullStr | Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| title_short | Patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| title_sort | patterns of emergency dispatch calls and their changes during the covid 19 pandemic in ulaanbaatar mongolia |
| topic | Emergency calls Temporal analysis COVID-19 impact Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Emergency medical communication center |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-025-01273-1 |
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