Geographical Variation in Pediatric Emergency Medical Services Utilization

Background: Pediatric transport by emergency medical services (EMS) is costly and resource-intensive. Significant variation in pediatric EMS utilization exists across large-scale geographies. Identifying geographic factors associated with EMS utilization will allow for targeted community-based interventions to minimize unnecessary use and focus services on those at greatest need. Purpose: To determine if pediatric EMS utilization varied geographically across Hamilton County, Ohio and whether that variability was associated with underlying neighborhood-level socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of children transported by EMS to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital …