Relationship between conventional workload surrogates and VACP assessments in emergency medical services

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Authors
Ercolani, Jenna
Cure, Laila
Misasi, Paul
Advisors
Issue Date
2024-05-21
Type
Conference paper
Keywords
Emergency Medical Services , NASA TLX , Paramedics , VACP , Workload
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Ercolani, Jenna, et al. “IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2024.” Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, IISE, Proceedings of the IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2024, 2024.
Abstract

Workload surrogates commonly used in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to evaluate the efforts of crewmembers throughout their workday have not been validated. This study investigated the relationship between workload assessments and surrogate metrics that can be calculated using conventional EMS dispatch data systems. Workload was assessed at random points in time during random shifts using the Visual, Auditory, Cognitive, Psychomotor (VACP) approach. Direct observation was used to assess the VACP scores of individual tasks commonly performed by ambulance crewmembers. Dispatch data was mapped to VACP score profiles through a trace-based simulation approach that adds random samples of tasks sequences and durations to the timestamps available in the EMS data. Pearson correlation and linear regression were used to quantify the relationship between the average time-weighted VACP workload and EMS metrics. Overall utilization and call response utilization explained time-weighted VACP the best, with strong positive correlations (0.88 and 0.89, respectively) and significant linear regression models (with R2=0.79 and R2=0.77, respectively). Call volume yielded the lowest correlation (0.61) and R2 values (0.41) of the metrics studied, challenging its validity in fairly representing workload. © IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2024.All rights reserved.

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Publisher
Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, IISE
Journal
Proceedings of the IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2024
Book Title
Series
IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2024
18 May 2024 through 21 May 2024
203030
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DOI
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