Trauma in elderly people: access to the health system through pre-hospital care1

Hilderjane Carla da Silva, Renata de Lima Pessoa, Rejane Maria Paiva de Menezes

to identify the prevalence of trauma in elderly people and how they accessed the health system through pre-hospital care. documentary and retrospective study at a mobile emergency care service, using a sample of 400 elderly trauma victims selected through systematic random sampling. A form validated by experts was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied. The chi-square test was used to analyze the association between the variables. Trauma was predominant among women (52.25%) and in the age range between 60 and 69 years (38.25%), average age 74.19 years (standard deviation±10.25). Among the mechanisms, falls (56.75%) and traffic accidents (31.25%) stood out, showing a significant relation with the pre-hospital care services (p<0.001). Circulation, airway opening, cervical control and immobilization actions were the most frequent and Basic Life Support Services (87.8%) were the most used, with trauma referral hospitals as the main destination (56.7%). trauma prevailed among women, victims of falls, who received pre-hospital care through basic life support services and actions and were transported to the trauma referral hospital. It is important to reorganize pre-hospital care, avoiding overcrowded hospitals and delivering better care to elderly trauma victims.