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Impact of the population pyramid on the ED
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24215/16666038.25.e05Keywords:
Simulation, population pyramid, agent based model, KPI, emergency departmentAbstract
A country’s population pyramid can affect the quality
and demand for emergency departments in several
ways. Emergency departament (ED) may need specialized
resources and equipment to meet the population’s
needs. In this research, we present an analysis of
scenarios through agent-based modeling and simulation.
We analyzed the population pyramids of Spain,
Argentina, and Paraguay to provide insight into how
demographic structure impacts the length of stay (LoS)
and the need for medical and nursing staff. This can
help policymakers and health managers better plan
health resources and services in each country. We verified
the evolution of the parameters, length of stay
(LoS), and the occupation of doctors and nurses depending
on different scenarios, such as the age of the
patients and the number of patients arriving at the
hospital, and how it can lead to saturation of the ED.
Through several scenarios analyzed through simulations,
we were able to conclude that the age pyramid of
the patients treated at the ED of a hospital affects the
demand for services, the complexity of cases, the need
for specialized care in human and material resources,
as well as waiting time and congestion in the ED. Saturation
in the ED due to increased patient arrivals can
negatively affect the quality of medical care (due to
the shortage of human resources, materials, beds, and
boxes), patient safety, and the saturation of medical
and nursing staff. Implementing measures to manage
demand and optimize available resources effectively
is essential to ensure adequate care for all patients in
EDs.
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Published
2025-04-30
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ramona Elizabeth Galeano Ramona Elizabeth Galeano, Alvaro Wong, Dolores Rexachs , Remo Suppi, Eva Bruballa, Francisco Epelde, Emilio Luque
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
[1]
“Impact of the population pyramid on the ED”, JCS&T, vol. 25, no. 1, p. e05, Apr. 2025, doi: 10.24215/16666038.25.e05.
