‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community
Objective Examine how the characteristics of border communities along the US southern land border impact Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel in these border communities.Design Using phenomenological approach, we conducted face-to-face, one-on-one interviews using a semistructured interview me...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/12/e088819.full |
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| _version_ | 1841536559415820288 |
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| author | Miryoung Lee Jessica Hernandez Christine Crudo Blackburn Mayra Rico Lauren Knight |
| author_facet | Miryoung Lee Jessica Hernandez Christine Crudo Blackburn Mayra Rico Lauren Knight |
| author_sort | Miryoung Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective Examine how the characteristics of border communities along the US southern land border impact Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel in these border communities.Design Using phenomenological approach, we conducted face-to-face, one-on-one interviews using a semistructured interview methodology.Setting All participants worked as EMS providers in a city fire department along the Texas-Mexico border.Participants 28 EMS providers participated in the study. 93% of participants were male and 7% were female. 50% of participants had more than 10 years of experience working as an EMS provider.Findings We found that local EMS personnel frequently provide medical support for Border Patrol due to the lack of medical capability within the agency. This care provision creates negative impacts for both the community and EMS personnel. These findings were shown through the overarching theme that the presence of federal law enforcement in the community is the primary characteristic that impacts the experiences and perspectives of EMS personnel. Additional primary themes include: (1) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) utilisation of local EMS strains the system, (2) CBP utilisation of local EMS is the result of a lack of medical training and (3) the presence of the international boundary creates a unique work environment.Conclusion The lack of medical support within Border Patrol and relevant federal agencies creates a burden on local EMS resources and causes stress among EMS personnel. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-59a8902d4f944cb2901a5f3b6d923a80 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-59a8902d4f944cb2901a5f3b6d923a802025-01-14T16:05:14ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-12-01141210.1136/bmjopen-2024-088819‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border communityMiryoung Lee0Jessica Hernandez1Christine Crudo Blackburn2Mayra Rico3Lauren Knight42 The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Brownsville, Texas, USA4 Department of Health Behavior, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA1 Department of Health Policy and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA3 USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA5 School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USAObjective Examine how the characteristics of border communities along the US southern land border impact Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel in these border communities.Design Using phenomenological approach, we conducted face-to-face, one-on-one interviews using a semistructured interview methodology.Setting All participants worked as EMS providers in a city fire department along the Texas-Mexico border.Participants 28 EMS providers participated in the study. 93% of participants were male and 7% were female. 50% of participants had more than 10 years of experience working as an EMS provider.Findings We found that local EMS personnel frequently provide medical support for Border Patrol due to the lack of medical capability within the agency. This care provision creates negative impacts for both the community and EMS personnel. These findings were shown through the overarching theme that the presence of federal law enforcement in the community is the primary characteristic that impacts the experiences and perspectives of EMS personnel. Additional primary themes include: (1) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) utilisation of local EMS strains the system, (2) CBP utilisation of local EMS is the result of a lack of medical training and (3) the presence of the international boundary creates a unique work environment.Conclusion The lack of medical support within Border Patrol and relevant federal agencies creates a burden on local EMS resources and causes stress among EMS personnel.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/12/e088819.full |
| spellingShingle | Miryoung Lee Jessica Hernandez Christine Crudo Blackburn Mayra Rico Lauren Knight ‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community BMJ Open |
| title | ‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community |
| title_full | ‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community |
| title_fullStr | ‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community |
| title_short | ‘It overwhelms the system’: examining EMS provision in a South Texas border community |
| title_sort | it overwhelms the system examining ems provision in a south texas border community |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/12/e088819.full |
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