Barriers to helicopter emergency medical services in a Haze-Prone, mountainous region of Northern Thailand.

ABSTRACT:

Study objective

To identify factors associated with the mission outcome (transport completed vs. not transported) of air medical transport (AMT), with particular attention to environmental and operational constraints such as haze-related air pollution.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of all requests to the Northern Thailand Sky Doctor program (SkyDoc) from Jan 1, 2020, to Sept 30, 2024. Patient demographics, mission characteristics, environmental conditions, and operational variables were extracted from program records and merged with daily PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations from the national air quality monitoring network. The primary outcome was mission outcome, defined as transport completed versus not transported. We analyzed factors associated with non-transpor

SUBMITTER: Sutham K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12613902 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature