Development and psychometric evaluation of the pre-hospital medical emergencies early warning scale

Abstract

Introduction: The number of requests for emergency medical services (EMSs) has increased during the past decade. However, most of the transports are not essential. Therefore, it seems crucial to develop an instrument to help EMS staff accurately identify patients who need pre-hospital care and transportation. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Pre-hospital Medical Emergencies Early Warning Scale (Pre-MEWS). Materials and Methods: This mixed-method study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a qualitative content analysis study was conducted to identify the predictors of medical patients' need for pre-hospital EMS and transportation. In the second phase, the face and the content validity as well as the internal consistency of the scale were evaluated. Finally, the items of the scale were scored and scoring system was presented. Results: The final version of the scale contained 22 items and its total score ranged from 0 to 54. Conclusions: Pre-MEWS helps EMS staffs properly understand medical patients' conditions in pre-hospital environments and accurately identify their need for EMS and transportation.