Callers’ Descriptions of Stroke Symptoms during Emergency Calls in Victims Who Have Fallen or Been Found Lying Down: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Abstract

Early identification of stroke symptoms is essential. The rate of stroke identification by call-takers at emergency medical communication centres (EMCCs) varies, and patients who are found in a lying down position are often not identified as having an ongoing stroke. Objectives: this study aimed to explore signs and symptoms of stroke in patients who had fallen or were found in a lying position. Design: a retrospective exploratory qualitative study design was used. Method: a total of 29 emergency calls to EMCCs regarding patients discharged with a stroke diagnosis from a large teaching hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, in January–June 2011, were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: during the emergency calls, the callers described a sudden change in the patient’s health status including signs such as the patient’s loss of bodily control, the patient’s perception of a change in sensory perception, and the callers’ inability to communicate with the patient. Conclusions: The callers’ descriptions of stroke in a person found in a lying position are not always as described in assessment protocols describing the onset of a stroke. Instead, the symptom descriptions are much vaguer. Therefore, to increase identification of stroke during emergency calls, there is a need for an increased understanding of how callers describe stroke symptoms and communicate with the call-takers.

Keywords

• dispatch centre
• emergency call
• stroke
• content analysis