Supply-demand mismatch causes substantial deterioration in prehospital emergency medical service under disasters.

ABSTRACT: Floods severely disrupt prehospital emergency medical services (EMS), which dispatch medical personnel to deliver on-scene treatment, by hindering ambulance mobility and increasing medical demand. Here, we proposes a simulation-based framework that integrates flood inundation, EMS facility data, and population-weighted medical demand to assess regional EMS performance under different flood scenarios. Applied to Zhengzhou, China, the framework evaluates system responses during normal conditions, 1-in-50-year, 1-in-100-year floods, and the extreme "7.20" rainfall disaster. Results show dramatic increases in response times during "7.20", with resource shortages identified as a key delay factor. Three mitigation strategies are evaluated: adding ambulances, inter-subcenter ambulance sharing, an

SUBMITTER: Chen W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12331904 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature