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Emergency Numbers Accessibility for Disabled Peoples': Case of the Islamic Republic of Iran Publisher Pubmed



Ghanbari V1 ; Ardalan A2 ; Nejati A3 ; Rostamnia L4 ; Mousavi G5
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Nursing Department, Health in Disaster and Emergencies, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
  2. 2. Health in Disaster and Emergencies, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Prehospital and Hospital Emergency Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
  5. 5. Research Center for Emergency and Disaster Resilience, Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran

Source: Journal of Emergency Management Published:2020


Abstract

Introduction: An emergency is a serious, unexpected situation which may lead to injury, loss of life and damage to property and often needs urgent interventions. Emergency calls can bring urgent life-saving intervention in such situations. Although access to emergency lines for all persons of a society is one of the effectiveness indexes of this critical service, in most countries, these lines are not accessible for disabled people. Case presentation: This study examined the issue of emergency number accessibility for disabled people in the I.R. of Iran. Two persons who had been poisoned by carbon monoxide died because their deaf-mute father could not communicate with the Emergency Medical Service Center (EMSC). This led to the Emergency Medical Service Management Center (EMSMC), in collaboration with Iranian Society of Deaf People Family (ISDPF), developing a system that is a combination of short message system (SMS) and location-based information (LBI) to facilitate the communication of such disabled persons with EMSMCs. The system did not receive any emergency message until this report is provided. Conclusion: Because emergency call service has not been available for disabled people in Iran until now, emergency service organizations should take a proactive approach in developing a reliable and easy to use a method with the current technologies. These organizations should also provide information about the installed systems for end-users. © 2020 Weston Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.