Health care system resilience - Evaluating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency medical service demand in Germany: A case study from the city of Jena
The pandemic led to shift in demand patterns, characterized by reduced overall demand, extended mission times, and a change in treatment focus from cardiovascular to psychiatric and psychosocial issues, reflecting changes in healthcare-seeking behaviour and operational challenges. While regional studies have examined mission volumes, our study provides a higher-resolution analysis of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pre-clinical EMS in Germany and provides important insights to be used for health care planning and policy decision-making.
Authors
- Johannes Winning
- Jan-Christoph Lewejohann
- Jonas Brock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6703-2395)
- Sebastian Lang
- Harald Lux
- Petra Dickmann
- Arthur Gratzias
- Michael Bauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1521-3514)
Institutions
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (DE)
- Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena (DE)
- Jena University Hospital (DE)
- Thuringian Institute of Sustainability and Climate Protection (Germany) (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS ONE
- Published
- 2026-03-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344992
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 and healthcare impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00