Air ambulance base development for responding to traffic accidents in Iran

Background: Road Traffic accidents are one of the most common accidents killing 1.35 million people annually around the globe. Approximately 86% of deaths occur from trauma before hospitalization. In such circumstances as a pre-hospital service, air ambulance can play an important role in accessing the patients and transferring them from the accident scene securing survival of patients. Objective: This study aimed to identify the affecting factors in-air ambulance response to traffic accident sites. Methods: This qualitative study conducted from November 6, 2019 to April 6, 2020, in which a semi-structured interview was carried out on 17 participants. To analyze the data of this qualitative study, the Graneheim and Lundman method was used, and a conventional content analysis approach was employed. Results: The majority 41% were in the age range of 30-40 years. Individuals with a master's or doctoral degree made up 70% of the participants. People with 11-20 years of work experience made up 52% and 58% of the participants were at the managerial level. Factors influencing the development of air ambulance bases in 6 main categories, included resources and infrastructure, training of specialized personnel, indicators and standards, information and communication, safety and security, and management factors were studied. Conclusion: Based on the findings, infrastructure improvement and allocation of resources as well as training specialized forces can play an important role in developing air ambulance bases in Iran, Further research is needed to develop a measurement tool to evaluate the affecting factors before establishing air ambulance bases in Iran.