Utilization of Emergency Services During the Single European Emergency Call Number Pilot

Abstract

Background: Single European emergency call number project (SECNP) has recently been piloted in Turkey. In this study, we aimed to assess the level of awareness of the emergency call number and utilization of emergency services by the general public during the pilot stage.
Material and Method: The study population was selected from the city centers of Izmir and Antalya. A simple random sampling was performed to select 291 respondents from Antalya and 616 from Izmir.
Results: In the current study, the level of awareness for the ambulance emergency number was 89.4%, whereas for the coast guard it was only 13.5%. As different numbers are used for different types of emergencies, the awareness level about the emergency numbers decreases and the chances of dialing a wrong number during an emergency increase. Males, young and the educated were found to utilize the emergency call number more often than the other parts of the population. The two most commonly listed expectation of the public from the SECNP were found as ending the chaos of having different numbers for different types of emergencies and increasing the coordination between different agencies responding to an emergency.
Conclusion: Public education and awareness campaigns have a positive effect on increasing the level of awareness for emergency numbers. A higher level of public knowledge concerning the 112 emergency number in Turkey is seen as an advantage for the successful execution of the SECNP.